KRISTIE MOSS / Scroll Photo Illustration
Door-to-door donations may increase as Christmas season begins.

On Nov. 2 three young men knocked the doors of residents of Nauvoo House apartments. They told students they were on a scavenger hunt and needed to collect quarters dated before the year 1980.

The three had been working for almost an hour when Kylie Jackson, a junior from Rexburg, opened her door to them.

After rummaging through loose change, her roommate finally donated a dollar’s worth of these “vintage quarters.”

The young men were friendly, and the girls thought the hunt was a great idea so they began to ask more questions. Jackson soon found out that in the short time they had been out, the three had already made around $20, and that’s only because it took people so long to look for the right coins.

The girls had befriended the young men so well that before they left, they admitted that the money was actually for a present to one of their cousins and that they decided on Nauvoo House because people there have laundry cards and almost always have a stash of quarters somewhere.

It’s a routine many students are familiar with: a knock on the door, a brief explanation of the cause and a petition for a donation. The transaction happens so quickly most don’t ever find out how legitimate the cause really is — or isn’t.

\For some students, door-to-door donation requests have become so common that they don’t really question where the money goes anymore.

Lindsey Polson, a freshman from Rigby, Idaho, said that for her “it’s kind of an automatic thing. I feel a bit obligated because sometimes I don’t even wait to hear the cause. I assume it’s going to a good cause so I should donate.”

Other students are more affected by what they see and feel than the actual purpose of the charity. This was the case for Kate Roskelley, a senior from Auburn, Calif., who couldn’t remember what the girl had been raffling tickets for.

“She explained it pretty fast, almost as if she didn’t expect to sell anything and move on. I gave her the 50 cents because I felt sorry for her,” said Roskelley.

Not all students are willing to give without reservation. Some choose not to donate at the door and prefer to stay with organizations they know will use the money for the right reasons.

“The problem with people going door-to-door is that they’re in your personal space so it’s harder to say no or politely decline,” said Chelsey Sharp, a sophomore from Riverton, Utah.

Many charities also seem to prefer soliciting at women’s housing to men’s. Daniel Denney, a sophomore from Pleasant Grove, Utah, has had to go door-to-door in the past for a class project looking for volunteers.

Denney said, “in my experience, when it comes to volunteering and donations, girls are more willing to accept the invitation than guys are. The only thing I’ve had people stop by for is summer sales jobs.”

Although Jackson soon learned that not all door-to-door solicitations are for the needy, she said it doesn’t bother her.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to get up in arms over people trying to make a few bucks. We made friends over it so we weren’t offended.”