Wednesday, March 17, 2010

To woo, or not to woo

My friend Abbie invited me to go with her to a Spa Day that's a fundraiser for the non-profit group Cancer Support Foundation, Inc.

At first, I thought, "Sure, sounds good. $20 for a day of pampering." I imagined a nice massage, a manicure, a facial. And, in addition, I'd be supporting a non-profit group helping cancer patients.

Then I checked to see what was actually being offered at the Baltimore Spa Day event and found it heavy with woo. 

Yeah, the list includes makeovers, facials, and seated massages, but those are outnumbered by the woo:
Reflexology
Foot Detox
Acupuncture
Shiatsu
Reiki
Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy
Quantum-Touch
®
Heart-Centered Healing 


After reading that, I was definitely "not going." But since then, I've started to have second thoughts. I've never tried any of these types of woo. Maybe I should go for the experience if for no other reason than it would give me something to blog about. And I do like the idea of investigating woo in a more personal way. 

Plus, then when woo-believers ask me, "Well, did you ever try it?" instead of just trying to explain why my personal anecdotal experience wouldn't provide reliable evidence about the effectiveness of woo, I could say, "Yes, I have, and my personal anecdotal experience doesn't provide reliable evidence about the effectiveness of woo."

So, for a moment, I was seriously considered going.

But then I checked the Maryland Charities Database for information on the Cancer Support Foundation, Inc., which appears to be based in Howard County, and found that it spends 30% of its income on "management and general expenses" which would appear to give it a "0" score in that area under Charity Navigator's evaluation ratings method, so now I'm strongly leaning against going.

Bad enough to donate for woo, but worse to donate for woo to a less-than-exemplary non-profit.

No comments:

Post a Comment