The Salvation Army, America’s leading homophobic homeless charity, is not having a good Christmas. Donations are down — by some 15 percent in the D.C. area alone. But that might have less to do with Sal’s falling out of favor in the marriage-friendly nation’s capital than it does getting shafted by local retailers.
The Times breaks the harsh news of a Santa-less holiday season.
Donations to the Salvation Army in the Washington area have fallen 15 percent below last year’s in the first two weeks of its Christmas season bell-ringing campaign, officials from the organization said, dragged down by the continuing recession and a new limit on ringing outside Giant Food stores.
Giant announced the limit in October, in what it said was an effort to allow more local nonprofit organizations access to its customers. Giant allows only one organization at a time to solicit in front of its stores. The Salvation Army previously had exclusive rights from Nov. 12 to Dec. 24, but this year is limited to one week in November and one week in December, a Giant spokesman said.
Giant stores made up about half of all collections in the Washington area in past ringing campaigns, and Salvation Army officials are raising concerns about possible collection shortfalls. Last year, the local Salvation Army raised about $667,000 in front of Giant stores, about half of the total $1.35 million it collected. Giant has 179 stores, all near Washington, including Maryland, Delaware and Northern Virginia.
In the 16 days that ended Dec. 1, Washington-area Salvation Army ringers collected $404,894, or about 15 percent less than in the same period last year, said Kenneth Forsythe, a spokesman for the organization. It collected $68,271 outside Giant stores, a 75 percent drop from the same period last year, Mr. Forsythe said.
Undoubtedly, that’s going to put a huge damper in the holiday parties Sal’s throws at its $1.3 million estates.
gregger
Glad to see this action from Giant. Too many local groups that actually do something have received next to nothing against the advertising dollars of the Sanitation Army.
I give the SA “gay dollars” basically a piece of paper that tells them they were just given something from a member of the LGBT community and that the money that I have to give goes to an organization that doesn’t discriminate against the LGBT community.
L.J.
Good for Giant.
Jeffree
It’s amazing to me that the Salvation Army has been (nearly) the only charity collecting money at so many locations for years & years: supermarkets, malls, drugstores, etc.
Two problems: local charities get left out, and their position on LGBT people seems to unknown by most people who contribute. Mainstream press doesnt seem to call them out for their homophobia, so people keep giving them money. When I’ve mentioned Sal’s homophobia and policies to friends & family, they always are surprised.
ait10101
Yah, in 1982 my upstairs neighbour, who worked seriously on various suicide and help telephone lines nixed the Salvation Army on the basis of their discrimination. Later experience of mine in Australia and New Zealand led me to believe that things were different there, until an NZ colleague in Calgary visiting, assured me that the Salvation Army in NZ was a major recipient of money trying to oppose the bill to legalize homosexuality (our side won). This was confirmed by a friend I met in Melbourne who said that the SA was their major opponent. Rumours I have no evidence to confirm suggest the pressure came from the US due to the government’s rejection of nuclear devices on NZ harbours. They lost. The SA was a major supporter of the Opposition. That is where the SA sits. I agree with my upstairs neighbour after this. I guess I should say that my office mate was a leader in the argument against the influences of the SA despite that, though I did not know that at the time (suspected it yes, but I suspect he suspected me when my lover approached the room and I already had his glasses to give him without any words spoken) 🙂
The point is that the SA has actively worked against us. It does do good work.But we should be very careful who we give our money.to.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@ait10101: You are 100% correct. I used to toss coin into the kettles outside of stores around the holidays. Until a few years ago I was with one of my older friends who was very involved in the Gay rights bill passed in New York City in the 1980’s. He said the SA was one of the most vocal, fiercest opponents of the passage of the bill, along with the usual suspects the catholic church and orthodox jews.
I would sooner piss in one of their kettles than ever drop a coin ever again……………
Qjersey
Wasn’t there a campaign a few years back that involved printing fake money that had “money you lost for being anti-gay” and then dropping it in those damn buckets.
There is one bell ringer in front of my neighborhood drug store, nothing like being reminded how despised you are just outside your front door.
edfu
http://www.soulforce.org/pdf/kettlevoucher.pdf
Above is the link to print out vouchers you can put in the red kettles. They explain why you’re not donating to an organization that discriminates against the gay community.
Remember: There are plenty of other organizations that don’t discriminate against gays and that help the needy to which you can donate.
Rick H
@gregger: That is an AWESOME idea… Will start doing that today!
alan brickman
Geat idea!! charity is the camoflage of bigots…