Family Group Urges Donors Not to Support 'Big Brothers'

CNSNews.com ^ | 2/24/03 | Lawrence Morahan

[kattracks]

CNSNews.com) - A national family group is calling on corporations and individuals who donate to the United Way to exclude Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) from their charitable contributions.

Focus on the Family, a national non-profit Christian ministry, said it is initiating the action in response to BBBSA's national directive requiring its 490 local chapters to accept homosexuals as mentors to children.

Dr. William Maier, vice president and psychologist in residence at the Colorado Springs-based organization, said the BBBSA leadership has been inundated with criticism from parents, pro-family groups, members of Congress and even its own executive directors and board members on the policy.

"Yet the national office refuses to listen to their concerns," he said. "They're holding firm, they're being intransigent on this even though many, many people in America feel this is not in the best interest of children."

Last July, BBBSA put into effect a resolution approved by the organization's leadership not to exclude any mentor on the basis of "race, age, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability."

Maier said the policy was put into force under pressure from homosexual activists.

"Unfortunately, in the past year, they have chosen to bow to the pressure from gay activists," he said.

The children who are involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters programs are primarily from single-parent homes, and many are emotionally fragile, desperate for attention and affirmation from an adult of their own gender, Maier said.

"Fatherless boys and motherless girls need healthy same-sex role models, but Big Brothers has decided to pair them with homosexual mentors," he said.

As a community psychologist who worked with children from inner-city families, Maier said he referred dozens of single mothers to BBBSA over the years to find mentors for their boys.

"I believe so strongly in what Big Brothers does; it's a wonderful organization," he said.

However, BBBSA's new policy needlessly subjects children to higher risks of sexual molestation if they are put in the care of homosexual mentors, Maier said.

In its community-based program, BBBSA does not link up adult men with girls because of the potential for sexual abuse, Maier noted. Motherless boys on occasion are matched up with adult women so they might benefit from a mother figure in their lives, but the potential for sexual abuse in these cases is considerably less, he said.

Cross-gender matches sometimes are made in the BBBSA school-based program, which is highly supervised, Maier said.

However, in the permission slips sent to parents, there's no mention of the possibility that the child could be matched with a homosexual mentor.

"So it's conceivable that Big Brothers could match a child up with a gay or lesbian mentor and the parent would never know," he said.

BBBSA did not return calls seeking comment. A spokeswoman for the organization previously told CNSNews.com that it's standard policy for the organization to thoroughly screen volunteer applicants and reject anyone it believes would not be a safe and effective mentor.

The organization also seeks to honor individual preferences of the parents or guardians when selecting which volunteer will be matched with their child, the spokeswoman said.

Last year, the national membership of BBBSA passed a resolution calling for a non-discrimination policy that's been in effect for years at the national level to be the practice at all of its affiliates around the country, she said.

Philip Jones, a spokesman for United Way of America, said he was not familiar with Focus on the Family's appeal. He said, however, that donors to United Way may specify to which charities their contributions should be sent. He was not immediately aware of the amount the United Way donates to BBBSA.

E-mail a news tip to Lawrence Morahan.

Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.

 

[areafiftyone]

Thank you for posting this. I usually give my old clothes to Salvation Army but I was going to give them to Big Brothers/Big Sisters this year. Now I will will stick with Salvation Army!

[camle]

a few years back, a United Way flack told me that I was arrogant, selfish, and greedy if I didn't quintuple my donations to them that I had been making for years.

I had been considering increasing, even doubling my donations, but a 500% increase? I don't think so.

that was the last they ever saw or heard from me.

[GOP_Proud]

I quit donating to the United Way because of their stance on the Boys Scouts of America's position on homosexuality. I feel the same way about this. I'm not one to see all homosexuals as natural predators but I can see them pushing their agenda onto young impressionable minds.

I'm not a big fan of large charities anyway. I lean more towards local community needs. Go to your local schools and teachers can tell you about children who need clothes or shoes. I get sizes and deliver stuff all the time. They know me now and call when there's some little thing I can do. I'm not into giving money that I can't control. I will buy and provide.

The Salvation Army is one large charity that I trust, though.

[GOP_Proud]

I quit donating to the United Way because of their stance on the Boys Scouts of America's position on homosexuality. I feel the same way about this. I'm not one to see all homosexuals as natural predators but I can see them pushing their agenda onto young impressionable minds.

I'm not a big fan of large charities anyway. I lean more towards local community needs. Go to your local schools and teachers can tell you about children who need clothes or shoes. I get sizes and deliver stuff all the time. They know me now and call when there's some little thing I can do. I'm not into giving money that I can't control. I will buy and provide.

The Salvation Army is one large charity that I trust, though.

[GOP_Proud]

Sorry for the double post. My only excuse is it's Monday morning.

[gunnedah]

People need to quit giving to The United Way. They are beginning to have a shortage of funds because of their PC and wicked values.
Give directly to the charity of your chice,cut out the middle person and the money will go further and to where you direct it rather than paying administrative cost to a bunch of heathens!

[George W. Bush]

Sodomite alert. They need to expand their recruiting through charitable organizations.

[uncbob]

Somebody ought to ask the Big Brothers if they would allow a Big Brother to become a brother to a 14 year old girl

I fail to see the difference in allowing homosexuals the same access

You begin to wonder if this outfit wasn't always slanted in that direction and it is just coming out now

[Gritty]

Maier said the policy was put into force under pressure from homosexual activists.

This wretched policy is a cowardly cop-out of responsibility by BBBSA to assure the vulnerable kids under their program are mentored properly and protected.

For the homosexual activists, this is all about developing a new CandyLand for their perversions, which they hide through their lying rhetoric about "helping" kids.

One would think the public could see right through this agenda. But the ubiquitous power of "tolerance" and "PC" is so strong many people are completely blinded to the reality of what is going on here.

The pervs are winning another round here!

[EdReform]

"For the homosexual activists, this is all about developing a new CandyLand for their perversions, which they hide through their lying rhetoric about "helping" kids."

Well said. Quote of the day.

How many more kids will be victimized by homosexual pedophiles before someone puts a stop to this?

[Stat-boy]

A national family group is calling on corporations and individuals who donate to the United Way to exclude Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) from their charitable contributions.

Money is fungible; excluding an organization from one’s United Way donations will have zero effect on such excluded organization until such point when almost all donations specifically exclude that organization—a circumstance that will never occur.

[EdReform]

"However, in the permission slips sent to parents, there's no mention of the possibility that the child could be matched with a homosexual mentor. "So it's conceivable that Big Brothers could match a child up with a gay or lesbian mentor and the parent would never know," he said... The organization also seeks to honor individual preferences of the parents or guardians when selecting which volunteer will be matched with their child, the spokeswoman said. "

The permission slips need to have a clearly marked section allowing the parent to opt-out of a homosexual match. And let BBBSA add a section to the mentor application for sexual "orientation." Since homosexuals are so proud of their "orientation", they shouldn't have a problem with answering truthfully.

Let's also remember that there is just as much risk for abuse if a young girl is matched with a lesbian mentor as there is for a boy matched with a "gay" mentor.

[pawdoggie]

One would suppose that Big Brothers/Big Sisters would be at least as afraid of the law-suits that will result from allowing potential pedophiles unfettered access to children as they are of the potential lawsuits that would no doubt result from explicitly excluding gays and lesbians from the program.

[T Minus Four]

I've worried for years about the entire concept of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I'm sure it's done some great good over the years, but in light of the things we have seen in the news in the last 5 to 8 years, I think anyone who gives another adult unsupervised access to their child is INSANE!

[scripter]

Thanks for the ping.

Homosexual Agenda Index

Homosexual Agenda Keyword Search

All FreeRepublic Bump Lists

[Aquinasfan]

But don't let that stop anyone from becoming a Big. These children need sound role models more than ever.

[Aquinasfan]

The permission slips need to have a clearly marked section allowing the parent to opt-out of a homosexual match.

Even that's problematic. The policy would allow idiotic parents to opt-in. We must do what we can reasonably do to protect children from idiotic parents. Homosexuals should be altogether prevented from becoming "Bigs," period.

[Grampa Dave]

I have several friends in the new Mentor Programs. They and others are screened before becoming mentors, and all of them feel that the Mentor Programs are excellent.