Posted on 12/03/2004 6:58:27 AM PST by Tarpaulin
Bells will be ringing at Mervyn's department stores this holiday season after all, store officials announced Thursday in a sudden reversal of a ban on Salvation Army collection kettles.
Mervyn's officials say they did not know how important their stores were to the Salvation Army's fund-raising effort when they decided last month to bar the charity's bell ringers from their storefronts.
Some shoppers, apparently, were so offended by the action -- Target stores also have barred kettle collections -- that they called this week for a boycott of the national-chain stores.
"We didn't fully realize the implications this would have," said Greg Terk, spokesman for Mervyn's at its national headquarters in Hayward.
Terk said some customers had called to complain about the ban. On Thursday, the company announced it will make an exception to the company's "no solicitation" policy and allow the Salvation Army to make collections in front of its 257 stores in 13 states.
A news release announcing the change said the store "regrets any challenges this may have caused."
Local Salvation Army workers said they would have bell ringers in front of stores as soon as they could, possibly by later today in Santa Clara County.
Each year, thousands of Salvation Army red kettles serve as collection stations around the nation beginning the day after Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas Eve, according to the organization. Kettle donations stay local, supporting programs in the communities in which they are received. Last year, $93 million was raised through kettles that, according to the charity, helped almost 33 million people in need.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Small but steady progress bump.
Not exactly a brain trust, are they?
This is very good news. The Salvation Army is a great organization and deserves all the support it can get.
Excellent. Hopefully the Salvation Army is able to quickly get volunteers in place.
How does changing the policy because of your possible financial losses negate the fact that were it not for those possible losses the policy would still be in effect? I would still boycott Target, et al, for instigating the policy in the first place, because I now know their mind-set......
This proves Mervyn's understands economics, not Christmas.
Mervyn's is a Target subsidiary (at least it was a couple of years ago).
I guess the Sallys were just too overtly Christian, too grotesquely un-pc for these secularists.
But Mammon is a god they will always heed.
I guess they did not want to be "targeted" for a boycott.
Does this mean that Target will also allow them? Mervyn's is a part of the Target/Hudsons/etc chain. I don't see why stores can't do what they want to do and allow who they want to allow.
They will. They're called Salvation Army for a good reason.
At least this reversal puts PR pressure on Target. I wouldn't be surprised if Target followed suit. I hope they do. Mr. Adler let our local Target know we would not be shopping there this Christmas if the Salvation Army was not allowed to be there.
Good for them!
I hope Target stores really feel the reaction to their decision in their "wallet".
I'm shocked, shocked I say. Christians will waste their money at Mervyn's and Atheists will waste their money at Target. Afterwards, they can do a study on how best to target each group...
What are some other companies that are allowing Salvation Army bell ringers?
Mervyns was sold off by Target Corp a few years back. Target also recently sold off Marshall Fields.
Jake
Bahumbug to all retailers who tell us: "Take your Christ and get out of here..."
Let the JC Penny's and Targets of the world drown in red ink this CHRISTmas.
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