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On occasion I am bothered by groups at the supermarket asking for donations. If I have some change I'll usually toss it in, but I draw the line with groups that aren't even from our town looking for a handout. Sometimes if I don't know who the group is that's asking for the money, so I'll stop and grill them and more than once I've said to their parents who hover nearby, "I would have donated if your kids could have told me what the money would be used for. But they don't seem to have a clue." It makes no sense for kids to go asking for a handout if they don't even know what it will be used for. But the absolute worst is when you have older kids and they're holding out their can for you to drop your change, but totally ignoring you because they're yapping about something else. To them I firmly respond, "What? Donate? You absolutely have to be kidding me." BigFish, it's ok to say no or just not respond, I also recommend the tact of saying you'll get some change for them on the way out and then use the exit where they're not camped out, you can also avoid eye contact with them (the old, "Oh I didn't even see you there"), and finally, I also recommend, "I think my wife already got ya just a little while ago."
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