Posted on 12/12/2004 8:10:00 PM PST by DBCJR
The store chain Target has decided this Christmas to ban the Salvation Army from placing their bell ringers outside their stores to solicit funds for the wonderful work they do for our nation's most vulnerable. In my opinion, giving to the causes that the Salvation Army serves is a lot more about the Christmas season than the merchandise I buy from Target, so we are banning Target from our shopping until they change their policy banning the Salvation Army. If it takes them until next year, or the next, that is entirely Target's call. Join me in this effort by not shopping there, and encouraging your friends to do likewise. Then communicate this to Target at:
http://www.targetcorp.com/targetcorp_group/contactus/contact_general.jhtml
This is what I said:
"My family regularly shops at Target, yet the news that Target has banned the Salvation Army from soliciting donations this Christmas will change that. Like you, the Christmas season is their major source of revenues. They do an extraordinary amount of good for the nation's most vulnerable. The damage Target has inflicted upon that effort cannot be measured. I will not shop at Target until they change their policy toward the Salvation Army, and I will encourage my friends to do likewise. Please let me know when you change your policy."
Please pass this on & Merry Christmas!
The Salvation Army is not just another charity. Their work with the homeless, alcoholics, needy families, and victims of catastrophic events is unparalleled. Furthermore, Target fails to see that their bell ringers have become part of the Christmas tradition, as evidenced by their appearance on movies and TV shows. Banning them is bad business, bad PR during your make-or-break season. Not a good move. I'm doing business where the Christmas spirit is better demonstrated. There is something about the "giving season" that's not the same without the Salvation Army bellringers.
Dan
----- Original Message ----- From: "Target Guest Relations" To: "Dan Cross" Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 4:23 PM Subject: Inquiry to Target Guest Relations
> Subject: The Salvation Army > > Dear Dan, > > Like many nationwide retailers, Target Corporation has a long-standing "no > solicitation" policy that it consistently applies to all organizations > across all of its stores. > > We receive an increasing number of solicitation inquiries from non-profit > organizations and other groups each year and determined that if we > continue > to allow the Salvation Army to solicit then it opens the door to any other > groups that wish to solicit our guests. While some of our guests may > welcome the opportunity to support their favorite charity or cause, > allowing these organizations to solicit means that Target would also have > to permit solicitation by organizations whose cause or behavior may be > unacceptable to our guests. > > Wenotified the Salvation Army of our decision in January 2004, well in > advance of the holiday season, so the organization would have time to find > alternative fundraising sources. Target also asked the Salvation Army to > look at other ways that we could support their organization under our > corporate giving guidelines. To this date they have not provided a > proposal > that fits those guidelines. > > Local Salvation Army chapters can apply for grants through their local > Target stores. For decades, many non-profit organizations across the > country have successfully worked with Target in this manner. We are asking > the Salvation Army to work with us in the same exact manner as the other > groups and organizations who ask to solicit our guests. > > This decision in no way diminishes Target Corporation's commitment to its > communities. Target has one of the largest corporate philanthropy programs > in America, donating more than $2 million per week and hundreds of > thousands of volunteer hours each year to the communities in which it does > business. > > Sincerely, > > Jennifer Hanson > Target Executive Offices > guest.relations@target.com
I too have put my "Boycott" on Target stores until they allow the Salvation Army's Bell Ringers back at their stores. I do a lot of shopping at Target because it is so close to where I live. BUT, I will not allow this anti-Christian bigotry to continue unabated. It is time for all Christians and Conservatives to put their money where their mouth is an not shop at stores that decide to not celebrate CHRISTMAS as CHRISTMAS, but rather as Santa Claus Day. I am sick and tired of being the target of anti-Christian bigotry by stores, the media, the "entertainment" industry, The Anti Christian Liberites Union, People for the communist way, and the people for the separation of church from America crowds.
http://target.com/target_group/community_giving/store_solicitation.jhtml
See their site for their "pat" answer about solicitations, etc. What a pile of crap. I too refuse to shop Target now because of their anti-Christian policy and have let them know why.
I RECIVED THAT VERY SAME FORM LETTER. FROM THE SAME
PERSON. I MENTIONED WALMART HAD FOUND A WAY TO WORK IT OUT. BUT MY LETTER WAS THE SAME WORD FOR WORD AS YOURS.
I received the form letter , too.
I asked the same question.
There really is no good reason for their policy.
Thanks for posting this. I have been meaning to voice my complaint to Target. Here is what I said:
I was once a regular shopper at Target, visiting it several times a week. Several weeks ago when I heard about your decision to ban the Salvation Army, I in return made a decision to ban Target. I feel the reason the Salvation Army is no longer allowed is due to it being a Christian organization. Your anti-Christian stance has cost you my business. You may give to the community, however your position in giving in the name of God has been heard loud and clear. Please do not bother to send me your form letter I will not have time to read it. I will be too busy shopping at Wal-Mart.
No Longer Friends,
X. XXXXX
P.S. My friends and family members have also banned Target.
I shop at Target as well, and when I received "coupons" in an email, I sent a reply that indicated I would not be using them and why. My hope is that when they realize their "regulars" are upset for their Scrooge-like behavior (in my email to them) then the policy will change.
Why isn't their as much outrage over China?
Ok,we will split up...I'll take Target,you take China.
The Salvation Army is a real charity, unlike the Red Cross, whish supports terrorists and anti-Americanism.
I, too struck Target from my list upon hearing they'll no longer allow Salvation Army bellringers. I will also write them so they specifically know why they've lost me as a customer. Perhaps other stores will hesitate to follow Target's cowardly path, when they see the impact of Christians who have taken their business elsewhere. Oh, and it's "Merry Christmas" from me. I've banned Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, and XMas from my vocabulary.
We dont have them at our Walmart supercenter this year either....
Our Walmart checkout chicks wish us a "Happy Hollidays" ...they dont want to offend anyone but Christans (whose Holliday it is...in the first place)...
For the last few years whenever anyone wishes me Happy Holidays I thank them politely and explain that I don't celebrate "Holiday." I then wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I reply with "Happy Holy Day to you too."
Why don't you stay out of threads that obviously bother you so much and the rest of us will do as we please.
Merry Christmas!
because it's so much more fun to threaten boycotts. Oh, and post threads fifty times on the same topic.
Even with the loss of target (target told them they would be ending the SA's sole exception to their 'no solicitation' policy nearly a year ago) the salvation army is still short of bell ringers. I suggested to the boycott happy freepers they could step up and volunteer their time to ring the bells - but apparently target is the only one required to make sacrifices for the salavation army. According to freepers, their donations of a buck here and there are enough to qualify them to condemn target.
BTW, target donates $2 million PER WEEK to charities, including the salvation army. They also donate unsold merchandise to the salvation army. And they put themselves at risk of lawsuits by allowing the SA an exception to their otherwise blanket 'no solicitation' policy for years.
But some freepers are setting a great precedent - you can help out a charity for years, and continue to do so with money and merchandise- but as soon as you have to change your policy to protect your business, we'll call for a boycott -facts be damned.
Heck of a way to get more businesses to stick their necks out to help a charity...
I sent them a piece of my mind also. Here is what I wrote:
Scrooge,
Sad that you folks there at Target have decided that you'd rather play the part of the Grinch who stole Christmas then to allow the Salvation Army to stand out in front of your stores and ring their bells for the needy.
Nothing I can do about it. But I can tell you that I won't spend my money in your store anymore. I will be doing my Christmas shopping at the first store where I see a Salvation Army worker standing out front. And I will "NEVER" shop at Target "EVER" again!
Merry Christmas! Oh! That's right! You don't believe in The Christmas Spirit anymore! So Baa Humbug to you too!!
quit making excuses for hypocrisy.
And I love how some freepers think they have the right to tell a business how it should run and put itself at risk of litigation - hell, it's not their money or their business, so they can be as brave and magnanimous as they keyboards let them, because they don't have anything at risk.
Target should do this, target should do that, blah blah blah - hey, if they get sued I don't lose anything - they can spare the millions in court costs fighting for a cause *I* believe in...
'"hypocrisy" ... I do not think you know what that means.'
yes, I do.
In this case, it means expecting target to put themselves at risk and spend their efforts to not just donate money or merchandise to the salvation army, but open up their property to them as well.
That compares to many freepers who think that just tossing a few quarters into the SA kettle is 'good enough' for them, and gives them the right to criticize target for not doing everything they want them to do.
Come on, boycotters - put your feet where your mouth is - stand outside in the cold for a shift or two ringing the bell. The SA needs your help!
That's strange, because our local Walmart Supercenter allows the SA bell ringers! I've seen them! This is in Ogden, Utah. Many Kroger's stores, like Smith's, have them this year too. There's a smaller, local store called "Acres" in North Ogden (my town), that has bell ringers too! I was saddened to see that Target doesn't have them.
If there were a serious lawsuit threat Wal*Mart and the other stores would all ban them. There isn't one.
What has motivated Target is political correctness. They'd rather have the money of pixies and fairies than mine.
BTW, your motivation is certainly suspect, flash.
Who ever mentioned "litigation"??? Even Target didn't come up with that one. What are the claimants going to sue for? A private business chose to let a religious organization, one that has secularized to the point it received federal grants BEFORE the "faith-based initiative", solicit funds on its premises. There is no cause of action there. Would one claim assault due to the infliction of bell-ringing harassment? Your post is tangential and irrelevant.
Off Target with the Salvation Army
Editorial
November 2004
by: Joseph M. Knippenberg
I’ll miss the Salvation Army bell-ringers in front of "my" Target store this year. They won’t be there, or at any other Target store. Target management has decided that it will no longer exempt the Salvation Army from its "no solicitation" rule.
For the record, shoppers put $94 million into the red kettles last Christmas season, $9 million in front of Target stores. While a few other retailers have stepped into the breach—including B.J.’s Wholesale Club and Michael’s, to name two new local participants—it’s not clear that the Salvation Army will be able to make up the difference.
Of course, Target, which has a well-deserved and assiduously cultivated reputation for being a good corporate citizen, could write a check to cover the shortfall. But for me, it’s not just about the money, which (by the way) stays in the communities in which it is donated, helping to provide food, clothing, and shelter for the destitute.
It’s about another way in which the spirit of commerce is crowding out the spirit of Christmas. The bell-ringers help to remind us that our generosity is reflected not just in the gifts we give to our loved ones, but in our willingness to reach out to hungry and homeless strangers. And, according to studies cited by the Salvation Army, roughly 90% of us take the hint.
Well, we’ll have to get the hint somewhere else now, because Target wants us to have a "distraction-free shopping environment in which to shop," as someone from customer relations wrote (not very elegantly) in response to my impassioned protest email. Target wants me to concentrate on spending money in their stores, not on "the reason for the season."
Target is also apparently concerned that if they say "yes" to the Salvation Army, they can’t say "no" to any other non-profit that wishes to solicit in front of its stores. While it of course requires less thought to say "no" to everyone—in the name of the high principle of a "distraction-free shopping environment"—it’s not all that hard to say that there is a long-standing American tradition, quintessentially represented by the Salvation Army, of encouraging holiday good cheer to extend beyond family and friends. Respecting and upholding this holiday tradition—more august even than the Budweiser Clydesdales and Burl Ives as Frosty the Snowman—would be good enough for me. After all, holidays are all about traditions, about celebrating stories handed down from the past and preserved for the future.
The Salvation Army here is the victim of two forces—the tendency of the marketplace to be no respecter of traditions and the growing pluralization of the culture, with an ever-increasing array of groups, all claiming to be worthy and all clamoring for our attention. In a homogeneous society, the uniform authority of the culture could stand up to the forces of commerce, either taming them or moderating their effect on our sentiments. In a pluralistic society, the multiple cultural bases of authority are individually too weak to resist the marketplace. Out with the bell-ringers, in with wardrobe malfunctions and desperate housewives! Merry Christmas, or should I say, happy shopping!
Joseph M. Knippenberg is Professor of Politics and Associate Provost for Student Achievement at Oglethorpe University.
Dear Target,
As a business owner myself, keep up the good work...clean stores, friendly employees, quality merchandise...everything that Wal-Mart can't offer. I boycotted Wal-Mart some time ago! Thank you for your stores Target! Where else is there to shop?!!!
Mark
weatherFrEaK
PS. A quieter store entrance at Christmas time is alright too. Thanks again!
Do some research before you spout off. You know nothing of the issue you are talking about. Malls and stores have been sued because because they allowed access to some groups for solicitation and not others. Courts have (wrongly) ruled that such spaces are quasi public spaces, and that stores and malls must allow equal access for groups - or none at all.
That is what I'm talking about. If you've followed any of these target threads (about 50 so far) or done any research AT ALL into the subject, you'd know that litigation on the part of parties who didn't get the exception from the target 'no solicitation' ban is a BIG issue.
To say that it lawsuits are 'tangential and irrelevant' is idiotic. It is the main reason target is no longer allowing the SA at their stores!!!!!!!
Maybe santa can get you a freaking clue for christmas and then you won't make such a fool of yourself.
Take a valium & calm down. It's Christmas. I have noticed your blood pressure gets way high flaming everybody. Chill a bit & people might take you a little more seriously.
You bounce around between threads getting all worked up & forget which thread you're needling (er, maybe that's the other way around???) Anyway, no one was talking about litigation in this thread, and there really is not any cause of action. Before you flame me with name-calling, be prepared to cite case law.
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