Posted on 10/23/2001 8:08:56 AM PDT by Gopher Broke
Home Depot Gives To Liberal Group, Denies Conservative Group
(CNSNews.com) - After donating to a pro-homosexual group earlier in the year, home improvement mega-store Home Depot has denied the grant request of a charity that tries to turn youth away from homosexual feelings.
Both nonprofit groups perform outreach to youth who are struggling with their sexual identity. One group received $2,500 grant in the form of 100 $25 gift certificates, which the group could use to raise funds.
The other group received nothing and suspects that their political sympathies may have factored into Home Depot's decision.
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) had hoped to receive $3,000 from Home Depot to set up a library for families and youths seeking answers and information about dealing with homosexuality.
They didn't give us a reason why they were denied, other than we didn't meet the criteria,said Regina Griggs, national director of PFOX, referring to a Sept. 18 rejection letter from the company.
Then why does Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)qualify, she asked. That's what I go back to. Maybe the company's decision makers are more sympathetic to homosexual activists, she speculated.
Unlike PFOX, PFLAG teaches that sexual orientation is often a matter of nature rather than nurture.
PFLAG has also been critical of efforts to engage in reparative therapy; designed to eliminate individuals' sexual desires for members of their own gender.
Though the Sept. 18 letter did not specifically state a reason why PFOX's grant application was rejected, the letter mentioned the company's focus on at-risk youth, which a company spokesman later said usually means youth who had criminal or drug abuse histories.
The letter also noted the company's material and monetary donations to the families who lost loved ones during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Jonathan Roseman, director of community affairs for Home Depot, said the company's unplanned giving to Sept. 11-related efforts was one possible reason why PFOX was denied funding. He could not, however, recall whether the decision regarding PFOX was made before or after Sept. 11.
The main problem with PFOX's application, said Roseman, was bad timing: it came midway through the year (in July), after a company committee had made most annual funding decisions.
Almost all of our commitments are made in the spring of the year, when our budget is being constructed, he said. If PFOX were to reapply early in 2002, the outcome might be different, Roseman added.
He denied that Home Depot has any political bias in funding charitable efforts.
I get grief when we fund Habitat for Humanity, said Roseman. People call them a Christian organization. I don't know if they are or not. I think they have a strong faith component, but they do phenomenal work on sheltering people.
We get criticism for funding the Salvation Army, he said. They are somewhat of a religious organization, but I don't fund the religion. I fund the program they do to get poor people off the streets, to connect poor people with jobs.
Home Depot has also been criticized for giving to the Boy Scouts, Roseman said.
We fund the Boy Scouts [and] we've gotten a lot of flack for that, he said. I don't fund the Boy Scout's decision not to include gays as scout masters. I fund them to do their work giving young men the positive, constructive atmosphere to grow up in.
I don't get into that political nonsense, Roseman insisted. I think people make too much about it. We've got better things to do with our time and money than to feed into those kinds of agendas.
"With annual employee contributions in excess of $1.7 million, we're proud to be the only home improvement retailer recognized by the United Way of America as a national corporate leader."
Maybe you oughta try Ace Hardware next....
Conservatism does not need vulgarity to succeed. In fact it paints us as crass, crude, and stupid. Voice your opinion but try and be civilized when you do it. If you can't express yourself without vulgarity maybe you should voice your opinion on a liberal venue instead.
Persactly! - And you can even 'carry' @ Lowe's !!!
They are very effective, aren't they? I really don't care. I will not be moved. These are short-term victories for the pro-gay activists. This culture "war" will end on entirely different terms in God's own time.
And the day that the Republican Party reaches out to accomodate these anti-family perversions, it will lose my support. There are millions more just like me.
If they receive a tax break for doing so then it does become a public matter. I say that corporate giving should not be tax exempt, then the bastards would only have to answer to their stockholders.
awww sh**!! I liked Lowe's! And the UW also gives $$ to Planned parenthood. Guess I'll be shopping at Ace!
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