There have been a million stories going around lately of the cruelty and bias behind Salvation Army, refusing to house certain people and leaving them out to die because of their sexuality. Examples:Log In Log In Do stories like this keep you from shopping at The Salvation Army or giving to the buckets and bell-ringers outside of stores when you're shopping during the holiday season? Do you prefer not to give it a thought and donate anyway? I'd personally rather give my money, even if it's pocket change, to a more open-minded organization. I mean, after all, there are a million second-hand stores out there to choose from, as well as many different charities, and most of them aren't this cruel to other human beings.
Interesting. I've never heard or read anything bad about them. Other than the usual donation money not making it into the hands of those who need it. But you hear that sort of thing about just about every charity out there today.
I've never heard anything bad about the Salvation Army either, but then again, people tend to be a little more open minded in New York than in other parts of the country like where the mentioned incident took place, and it's a possibility that the biases are localized.
I have no time for the Salvation Army. They are funded by the government here in England. They have secured very lucrative contracts to do charity work and the tax payers are paying for it. This is disgusting as they are supposed to be a non-profit organisation.
I've never heard about the discrimination specifically, but I've heard that a rather significant portion of what they get doesn't go to help anyone who really needs it in the first place. I'm always hesitant for that reason, even on the few times where I *do* have anything to give. But I agree, if that is the case, there are much more worthy organizations in the first place.
I've never heard of those. I don't shop at the Salvation Army, but only because there isn't one close to me. I do give the bell ringers money.
I read the articles from the links provided and found them to be sad. It's because of stories like these that many people hesitate to help the charities at all, which is unfortunate because there are many worthy and honest causes out there that need our support. Perhaps the best bet is to donate to local churches where you can see and know that the money is helping.
I never heard mention of anything like this until now. And I must say, it does certainly make me less likely to give a damn about the salvation army. This along with other rumors of the higher ups not making sure donations go to the places they're meant to go. This just ads one more reason to be weary of them.
I like that suggestion. Donating in your community is nice because it goes to people around you and you can actually see where the money is going. Smaller, local charities are less likely to hoard up the money to do bad things with.
I'm done giving to the bell ringers now and we don't have a local SA store to shop at. I do work for a non-profit that helps local families and veterans. I can tell you that it is much better to give to local charities. They don't get as much money as the SA and the needs are really great this year so every penny helps. In addition to the churches, you can also donate directly to local shelters that help the homeless as well as families that have been victims of domestic violence.
I'm glad you referred to these as rumors. The thing is I haven't heard anything about any of this except online. That's not to say it isn't true, I wouldn't be surprise to discover that it actually is. I just wonder why the press,and I'm not referring to the one online hasn't got hold of this story. Why it hasn't hit the news local and even national. I know that when the Boy Scouts and the Military were under fire for such practices it did hit the news wire as well. So, why hasn't the Salvation Army unless they have been doing a great job of covering it up till now.
This is the first time i have ever heard of this. But if it is true i won't be donating to them because the way i see it i don't care what the race is if their straight or not etc if they are in need and turn to them for help they should help no matter what.
For me, it's tainted the brand. Now that I'm aware of the allegations, I'm less likely to drop any money in the holiday tins. Normally, I find the holiday tins with the bells a little annoying anyhow, but this year, I'm annoyed and irked that a charity would deny someone help based on their sexuality.
I have never heard these stories; I don't think anything like that would happen in my city. I do think it is possible though, that a person could be a danger to others and not allowed to threaten the safety of other people in need of being helped. In a case like that, the organization would be within it's rights not to shelter someone.
Thank you for posting these articles. I have always preferred Goodwill stores anyway because they have a great online charity shop where you can bid on handpicked items. The fact that the Salvation Army is intolerant of gay people as well as having a couple of dirty ,messy stores near me makes me not interested in supporting them. I'll stick with Goodwill.
I too never heard of this story about Salvation Army before. Actually I've never heard of any negative news about the company. If these rumors are true that's a shame. As for donations, I usually give my clothes after Spring cleaning.
I've never given them any money as I don't believe even half of it goes to the people who need it (like a lot of charities), instead I will slip some coins to a homeless person if I have some to spare. My nan worked for a Salvation Army hostel for a number of years and she always thought they treated her differently because she wasn't a religious person.
I would be inclined to do the opposite, actually. I've been homeless before, and I've gotten a lot of support from charities and also from government benefits. I knew (and know) personally a number of other homeless people who got free meals at the same kitchens I did and then went out all day to beg for change so they could buy beer and drugs. If I meet a homeless person now, I'll either give him the address to a service that can help him, or I'll offer to buy him food. If he doesn't want it, then I know he's full of shit and I keep my money.
