Need Flier Miles!
 

(edited out by request of original poster)



[Note: This message has been edited by flyertalk]

In all honesty, I am somewhat leary of this type of post.

Having said that, please contact me privately... and we'll see what we can do.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ideasmilie.gif....Hey, while you're at it, gimmie some miles so I can go to Afganistan (First class, of course) and see some of my pals over there. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Sorry, we are infested with this sort of plea here in LEX. BE VERY CAREFUL.

There is a fairly large eastern European presence here at the University. Most of the folks are fine. Some are scammers.

This guy's homepage cannot be found.

We have friends in Kiev. Although times are tight, they DO NOT have 144,000 homeless children. Very suggestive Biblical number, no? I would BE VERY WARY.

------------------
"Service" should be a noun, not a verb.
Delta Flyers' Guide

I don't think I would trust a guy with ONE post

But you'd trust snake, right!

I'm tempted to make the offer to donate my thousands of miles on Infinite Airways... but I'd sure hate to end up on the wrong side of this thing (i.e. be wrong in what my intuition tells me about this.)

JonNYC: why worry about being on the wrong side? If he's really a missionary helping children, he is (a) used to rejection and (b) able to overcome it.

I have much respect for people who live their beliefs. Much good comes from that. Still, many "missionaries" here just want to pester you (or the Ukrainians, poor folks) into their own beliefs.

I have gotten tired of explaining to my esteemed fellow citizens in KY that the deal is that they can believe any idiotic, superstitious, ignorant thing they want, and that I CAN believe any idiotic, superstitious, ignorant thing I WANT.

If you truly believe everyone respects freedom of religion in this country, don't drive a car to Lexington with a "Darwin" bumper sticker. You might need a new paint job.

Edited as I was able to open Mr. Gentry's webpage.

[This message has been edited by JonNYC (edited 10-21-2001).]

BTW, Lex-- and I hope you'll understand I'm just being playful here-- your profile's webpage "cannot be found" either http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif!

You need to put in the URL directly (both with your's and his) you can't just "click" the link on the profile page.

Try this link:
www.freeyellow.com/members2/forster/



[This message has been edited by JonNYC (edited 10-21-2001).]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ideasmilie.gif...You know, if you are trying to feed 144,00 + precious children, and don't have the scratch for the air fare to get there, maybe we ought to just sent you a bunch of cash.

JonNYC: thanks. Fixed. Sorry bout that. I guess I'm just a techno-dumbo.

Checked their website. They don't seem to be students on the make, at least.... I am personally turned off by folks who "love" me so much they want to pester me into their religion (that's the usual refrain around here), but sometimes I admire the spunk.

I still expect the homeless children are an excuse to try to convert Ukrainians.... I used to enjoy keeping Mormon missionaries busy chatting when I lived in Italy, and boy did they love the break from being rejected by locals as soon as they attempted their ghastly Italian.... even when they realized I was not a likely convert! (One of the reasons many foreigners think Americans are weird, in my opinion, is that part of their experience of us is our missionaries. Ugh. What would you think?)

snake: you think there's something about loafing and fishiness here?

[This message has been edited by LexPassenger (edited 10-21-2001).]

LexPassenger, thumbs up for three good posts.

This missionary also posted on the "FrequentFlyer.com" forums in several places, so I'd be careful before jumping in with your miles. Might be okay, but caution looks like the watchword here. And, doesn't the sponsoring organization usually provide the airfare to and from the missionary's destination?

bj-21.

LexPassenger, When I saw the first post in this thread, I thought "uh-oh, multiple handles". I'm reassured to see you posting here as well (but isn't someone else missing??). Oh, and I enjoyed your posts, especially the Darwin bumper sticker observation. One day I'll give you my observations on American missionaries in France. Boy, talk about a tough audience ...

JonNYC, I would hold onto my Infinite Airways miles for now if I were you. As I imagine you haven't flown them much this last quarter, you don't know if they'll be extending your status for 2002-03. You might be able to use those extra miles to buy an Infinity Lounge® card.

When did donations of ff miles become tax-deductible? Never received the deduction in the past for donations.

I had a quite polite email from Mr. Gentry this morning. He and his group certainly seem sincere.

From his website: emphasis mine

On each trip that we make to the Ukraine,
we transport large suitcases of desperately
needed medical supplies. These medical
supplies afford us the opportunity to minister
to these beautiful people and to teach them
about the saving grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The medical supplies include items
such as bandages of all sizes as these are
in short supply. Usually a bandage dressing
is used many times over as the nurses
simply wash them out after removing them
from patients in order that they might be
used again on the next patient.


Perhaps we could just take up a donation and send over the medical supplies

My 2 cents

I'm sure all the scam artists from the 9-11 disaster seemed quite sincere to their victims as well

I would not trust this guy as far as I could throw him

I believe you could facilitate your request by posting your Ministry's Tax ID number so that those interested in donating may verify your status.


------------------
Who is John Galt?
------------------

Wow, this is a tough one-- as far as figuring out what's what.

From my personal perspective (and giving is always a very personal thing,) if I was gonna' part with my miles for charity, I'd sooner find a relative of a NYC firefighter or Police Officer who would love to fly in/out to spend time with a widow and her orphans. As I said-- it's an individual sense of "priorities"-- and in no way am I saying everyone should "keep their charity here in the U.S.," but that's where my heart is right now.

Of course, it's easier for me to see doing such a thing since I have "access" to some of these families and have spent a lot of time getting to know them (mostly before 9/11.) In fact, I'm the president of the Officer James Leahy Fund (didn't know him well, just a friend to the precinct he worked in,) and at least with a charity like that, you know 100% that the money goes right into the pocket of the widow and orphans in question-- with zero "organizational overhead" that many charities have.

Obviously helping the unfortunate overseas is rewarding in it's own way as well. Just my personal perspective.

Some faces...
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/nypd/html/memorial_01.html

[This message has been edited by JonNYC (edited 10-22-2001).]

That's not the point, 767-322ETOPS. FWIW, New Creation Ministries Inc. is indeed listed as a 501(c)3 by the IRS (there is a searchable list on the IRS web site.

I know that part of Eastern Europe very well, and I'm afraid I have to agree with LexPassenger:


Also, FWIW, FF miles donations are not tax-deductible.

JonNYC, you are right...it's an individual sense of priorities. This man's priority is to convert Ukranians to Western christian faith. For those that have a problem with that, perhaps they should 1) not donate anything to his cause or 2) donate to a Orthodox or Muslim organization operating in the Ukraine.

As for donating to 9/11-related charities, my sense of priorities tell me not to. These organizations are going to be flush with $1B in cash. There are many other worthy charities, which for me include: Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley (Phoenix), Friends of KAET-TV (public broadcasting), Arizona State University, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, St. Mary's School Endowment Fund (Platteville, WI)...

For those of you who disagree with the missionary's mission, I suggest going to see George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara on Broadway. You'll enjoy it.

Agreed. Just to nit-pick your statement slightly-- the fund I have given to (for P.O. Leahy) is not an "organization" in the typical sense of the word. It's a direct account which the officer's widow draws on-- no advertising expenses or administration costs.

IMHO, a window with three children will never be "flush" with cash, per se-- or at least not flush enough. Same goes for another fund I give to The Squad 18 Family Fund-- which will have to support 7 widows and their children.

As far as the large, organized charities go, I agree with your perspective.

I have a slightly different point of view on this type of thing. If you have lots of miles to donate, instead of worrying whether this particular request is legitimate or not, why not just find a charity on your own that you think is worthwhile and donate to them.

Donating to a charitable organization simply because they are aggresive enough or clever enough to post on a website - even if they are legitimate - is not the criterion I would use to select a charity for my miles.