Posted on 02/08/2005 6:00:43 PM PST by rface
Target Corp.’s decision to bar the Salvation Army from ringing bells outside its stores at Christmas apparently generated some benefit for the Christian charity.
The Salvation Army benefited over the holidays from record donations in Columbia and elsewhere in the nation.
"At first we thought this was going to be a crushing blow," Heather Duren, director of development for the charity in Columbia, said of Target’s decision. "It was in other communities, but fortunately not for us."
The Tree of Life campaign in Columbia surpassed its $250,000 goal with $278,325 in donations. Duren said the Red Kettles accounted for $96,631 of that total, up from $80,000 raised last year in the kettle drive.
Across the country, Salvation Army bell ringers brought in a total of $95.3 million in donations, about $1 million more than last year.
"I think the Target controversy fueled giving, no question about it," said Maj. George Hood, the national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army in Alexandria, Va.
"The American public sent a very clear message. They respect and believe in the Red Kettle program and do not want to see it go away," he said.
Nationwide, Target stores last year accounted for about $9 million dollars generated by the Salvation Army during its Red Kettle campaign, Hood said. In Columbia, Target and the recently closed K-Mart generated about $10,000.
"The outpouring of support to make up those dollars by the community was phenomenal," said Duren.
Publicity surrounding Target’s decision didn’t seem to hurt the store. According to numbers from the corporation’s Web site, net retail sales increased 5.1 percent in December of the previous year.
Duren said donations raised locally would go toward the year-round programs such as purchasing food for the Harbor House and operating the organization’s 61-bed shelter.
Despite the increase in donations, however, Hood said he was concerned that many malls and stores are banning soliciting and that the United States is becoming a cashless society as people shop with credit and debit cards.
"There are many, many dynamics that make it increasingly challenging to keep our presence on the streets," Hood said. "We have no intention of walking away from it, and we’ll do everything we can to keep the Red Kettle campaign alive."
Paula Grear, a Target spokeswoman in Minneapolis, Minn., said the company intends to continue its ban on solicitation and that Salvation Army and other charities are welcome to apply for corporate donations.
"We continue to work with the Salvation Army, particularly on a local level," she said. "It’s a relationship in good standing."
So did I, r. Glad to read this news.
Walmart here in Norman matched the donations to the Salvation Army every day -- don't know if they did it around the County but I know I donated more and did not shop at Target for Christmas which was a first in a long time. One of the Walmart greeters told me that he heard customer after customer say they were shopping at Walmart because of the Salvation Army and not going to Target.
HaHa, I told everyone I know not to shop at a store owned by cheese eating surrender monkies. Maybe that helped.
Same here, and I skipped shopping at Target as well.
Publicity surrounding Target’s decision didn’t seem to hurt the store.
I decided that I'd never set foot in another Target store. Hope others have decided to do the same.
Target, who?
I've got an unfair advantage. I'm in Korea at the moment and they don't have Target stores here. But.....when I return, they won't see me again.
Me too.. I had to make 2 trips to donate. The first trip to Walmart was before 4 pm, the time when the Red Kettles were manned.
I caught up with the Salvation Army in a Krogers in Columbus Ohio.
I'm so happy they did well.
a special "Thanks" to you for taking care of business in S. Korea
Military?
Retired military. Now a civilian working for the Army.
My son was in the Army for 4 years and then joined the Navy. He's been all over the world but liked being stationed in SK the best.
I assume your son was single when he was in Korea. Single guys seem to enjoy assignments in Korea moreso. Do you remember where he was in SK?
Yeah he was single. I can't remember where he was . He was a medic with artillery out of Fort Sill, if that helps. He's in Japan now and looks like he'll make a career out of the military.
Yeah he was single. I can't remember where he was . He was a medic with artillery out of Fort Sill, if that helps. He's in Japan now and looks like he'll make a career out of the military.
he could have been any number of places as a medic. I have applied for a few positions in Japan myself. My two year contract is up in August here and have yet to decide If i want to renew for two more or move on. if offered a job with a promotion, I'll likely move on though. Guess time will tell.
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