 | | 10-08-2004, 02:59 PM |
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#1 |
| Passionate Fan
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,663
| Target wont allow bell ringers this Christmas
Quote:
Target Corp. decision could hurt collections, Salvation Army chapters say
October 7, 2004 — Target Corp. won't allow Salvation Army bell-ringers outside its stores this holiday season, putting some Illinois chapters in an early hole as they head into annual campaigns that fund programs ranging from free lunches to homeless shelters.
Bell-ringers collecting for the annual Tree of Lights campaign generally get the biggest contributions outside big retailers, said Rich Draeger, spokesman for the Salvation Army's Heartland Division in central Illinois and eastern Iowa.
For instance, last year's kettle drive in Peoria netted $11,000 of its $226,000 total outside Target, he said.
Draeger said the Peoria chapter hopes to make up the loss when the campaign kicks off next month by putting kettles outside some smaller stores and through the direct mail campaign that accompanies the annual holiday fund-raiser.
"It's really going to be dependent on the community, whether they're generous at our other locations and whether the mail campaign can make up the difference," Draeger said.
The Minneapolis-based department store chain has had a non-solicitation policy on the books for years but made an exception for the Salvation Army's red kettle fund-raiser, according to the company
Target opted to enforce the policy across the board this year because allowing bell-ringers opened the door to an increasing number of not-for-profit organizations that have sought to solicit outside the chain's 1,100 stores nationwide, the company said in a statement.
Draeger said he understands the pressure Target faced but hopes the retailer eventually brings bell-ringers back.
The kettle campaign raises up to 70 percent of the Salvation Army's total annual income, which funds shelters, meal programs, Christmas toys, after-school programs and emergency assistance.
| I can understand where they are coming from, but still it's too bad. Maybe they will make a donation to the organization? |
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