Posted on 11/25/2004 5:34:53 AM PST by truthandlife
A pro-family organization has issued an alert to those who may be considering giving to one of the nation's largest charities this holiday season. The group's spokesman is warding donors away from United Way, and he also wants shoppers to know a thing or two about Target stores.
Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute, says the United Way has been crossed off his gift list. That is because the well-known charity refuses to share its money with the Boy Scouts of America while it openly supports numerous pro-homosexual groups with its money.
"I don't know why people still give to United Way," Knight says. He contends that people are already giving to government bureaucrats by paying taxes, so he asks, "why would you give to a group of private bureaucrats who have decided as a group that the Boy Scouts are worthy of being kicked out of various chapters across the country."
The Scouts had been a long-time beneficiary of United Way funding, until pressure from the homosexual community led to the BSA groups nationwide being cut out because their national organization promotes faith and moral values and prohibits homosexuals from serving as scoutmasters. Since then, at least 50 United Way chapters across the U.S. have excluded the Boy Scouts from a share of their fund-raising drives, claiming the BSA's Christian values are discriminatory.
But it is the apparent discrimination against the Scouts by the United Way that has angered Knight. Although not all the nation's United Way chapters have severed ties with the BSA, he points out that "the national headquarters has done nothing to stop the trend." Meanwhile, a major portion of the money the charity collects is being given to pro-homosexual groups.
CFI's director is urging individuals who are seeking out charitable giving opportunities to consider the manner in which the BSA has been treated by the United Way, and the organization's ongoing financial support of the homosexual agenda. Personally, Knight says, "I wouldn't give them a dime."
Unfortunately the United Way is not the only major U.S. organization that is drawing the pro-family leader's ire. In a recent interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network, he mentioned the recent announcement by Target that the retailer would not be allowing non-profit groups to solicit outside its stores this year. This means the familiar Salvation Army bell ringers will not be able to set up their kettles and collect donations at Target locations this shopping season.
Knight feels people of faith should be outraged over the retailer's actions. "Millions of Christians give Target millions of dollars," he says, "and what have they gotten from Target in return? A lump of coal. I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves, and I think consumers ought to take this into account when they do their Christmas shopping."
Salvation Army officials say Target stores nationwide helped raise about nine million dollars through last year's kettle campaign. Major George Hood, a spokesman for the Christian service organization, says the new policy prohibiting nonprofits from soliciting outside the department stores will hit some local communities hard.
"One Salvation Army officer said to me that the Target money that's raised in his community represents 75 percent of the income that he has in that community," Hood says. "When you begin to strip budgets of 75 percent of a revenue stream, it means that some very difficult decisions will have to be made in those local communities about what they will be able to do during the holidays with families, and what they will be able to do all year long once the Christmas season is over."
Still, God is in control, the Salvation Army representative notes. He says he is trusting in that truth, and he also believes many Christians who normally might have contributed at Target will help make up any deficit in the season's collections by increasing their kettle donations at other retail locations.
You're probably right. Since I give only to local organizations and mainly the boy scouts my next step is to see how much money they actually receive.
I know I could give directly to them, but I also know I tend to forget to do so.
UW sucks...lots of money away from good causes.
They use over 50% of donations on overhead to pay "staff members." Most of what's left goes to really lame organizations, and yes, they don't like the scouts because they won't let gay men in the tents with the kiddies.
Good call by CFI
" Target is suffering from the new age of litigation. If they allow the Salvation Army to solicit they may not be allowed to refuse other causes which might offend their customers."
And some give up not firing a shot...
I HAD to donate to UW at work, even though I was also giving 10% to my favorite charities. I did it under protest, and I told my supervisor as much.
I also do not shop Target, and WILL NOT shop Target...They refused to allow the Toys For Tots program by the Marines about 10 years ago, and that was when I said they had all the money they were going to get from me.
Target and UW are inferior in my book, and I think Wal-Mart should be run out of town. And don't ask me to elaborate on THAT! ;-)
Shop where you see the Salvation Army bell ringers.
In our local supermarket, there are Salvation Army donation coupons at the checkouts, rather than bell ringers outside. I'm not sure what the reasoning is, but they are still visible, so it's a good thing.
My husband faced the UW situation for the first time last week.
We found out that the Atlanta chapter DOES support the Boy Scouts, and doesn't support any abortion groups. We gave a small directed donation to several Boy Scouts groups (DH is an Eagle Scout) and a crisis pregnancy center.
Just another way that Georgia beats California.
thanks.
so, you're saying the dayton family are conservatives?
Good for Georgia!
I think we can ALL beat California. With one hand tied behind our backs!
Outstanding Story!
Good story! Thanks.
I worked for a company in the early '80s whose Chairman of the Board was the head of United Way for a year. Talk about putting the 'strong-arm' on the employees! There was no way that he was going to allow HIS company to be anything less than 100% in donations.
Homosexual Agenda Ping. I know a little something about the United Way - a friend who USED to work for a large corporation was highly pressured (I would say forced, except he refused to go along with the program) to donate lots of money to UW, attend special functions to promote it (functions which were morally repugnant to him), and basically spend quite a bit of work time promoting UW - often with his own money. He refused.
He is now fired.
Let me and ItsOurTimeNow know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
I've read on FR that Target donates quite a bit of money to "gay, lesbian, transgendered etc etc" causes. FYI.
Target invited the Salvation Army to get charitable dollars the way they do for many other organizations, which is directly.
Target gives out millions monthly to charity. IMHO, to boycott Target simply cuts off one's nose to spite one's face.
......great story!....made my Thanksgiving Day even brighter.
Because Target has a no soliciting policy, and for years they made one and only one exception, for the S.A. Other groups are wanting that same exception. So Target said no to all, since it couldn't reasonably make only the one exception.
Check it out at Snopes, the rumors are not true.
United Way gives support for ABORTIONS!!!
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