Target to Salvation Army: Drop Dead

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005
Target: Still 'No' to Salvation Santas


The Salvation Army is hard at work providing relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina, but the Target Corp. is sticking to its policy of not allowing the charity’s Santas to solicit donations at Target stores.

With the holiday season approaching, some officials at the Salvation Army thought Target might reconsider its no-solicitation policy, adopted in 2004, which has kept the bell-ringing Santas off Target property.

But Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear said the company is not changing its policy, claiming it offers shoppers a "distraction-free environment.�

"We don’t permit solicitation by any organization,� she said. The Salvation Army raised $250,000 at Indiana Target locations alone in 2002, reports post-trib.com in Indiana, and $442,000 at Chicago-area stores.

However, Target is not standing idly by in the wake of Katrina and has donated $1.5 million to the American Red Cross, said Thornton-Greear.

"Target has also coordinated large-scale donations of essential products, including water, ice, coolers, diapers and baby wipes.�

[I don't know about you, but I won't be spending any money at Target.]