Stifle a Joyful Noise
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Salvation Army.
The winter of 1992-1993 was a horrible one for the Berg family. I'd spent most of the year working at awful, not-quite-subsistence-level jobs; $7 an hour grading essays (the worst job in the world to require a college degree), legal document coding for $6/hour, working for a moving company. My then-wife worked too, for about the same money, although that was coming to an end; she was pregnant, due in February. The situation was never much fun; it was my then-wife, my stepson and my daughter (then about 18 months old). We were living in a mouse-infested abortion of a house that was draftier than Anna Nicole Smith's cerebrum. We were behind on all of our bills, had bill collectors like Jessica Simpson has paparazzi - things were ugly.
Finally, just before Thanksgiving, I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel; a company gave me a short-term contract job writing technical manuals.
The light was an oncoming train. I worked nearly a month, got paid for maybe a week, ended up getting stiffed for $2,000. Bill arrangements got scuttled, landlords were angered.
The day my son was born, we got simultaneous eviction and power shutoff notices.
Dire straits. It was a cold winter; we'd broken our arrangement with NSP, so the "winter no-shutoff rule" didn't apply to us, so we were a few hours away from being out in the cold, literally, with a new baby and not much else.
The Salvation Army bailed us out. They covered our heat bill, and helped work out a deal with our landlord that kept us in the place - a small blessing, but it beat the alternative. And a month later, I got my first good technical writing job, had my first year with over $20,000 in income, and onward and upward. If the Salvation Army hadn't helped out, I doubt any of the rest of my life would have come together any time soon.
I support the Salvation Army any way I can; I make a point of dropping something in the kettle every time I walk by, and usually manage a check of some sort once a year.
And yeah, I'm upset at Target.
Lileks says:
...There’s always something to tick you off; the tentacles of business and the non-profits are intimately intertwined. Pick any big shop and you'll find they fund something you like, and something you don't. That said: if I find that Target kicked out the Salvation Army for religious reasons, I’ll be peeved. Doesn’t mean I won’t buy my soap there. But it would chip away at that ephemeral thing called good will, the stuff companies often spend too fast without heed...End result? I wrote out a check to the Salvation Army tonight. Figured out what I put in the kettles, and doubled it. They’re happy; Target’s happy; I don’t have to drive 20 miles to find a frickin’ Wal-Mart.
I don't really get into boycotts; they tend to backfire. And while I live equidistant from the Target and the Wallyworld in my neighborhood (both are about half a mile away), I usually only go to WalMart when I am feeling depressed about how my life is going, and I want to feel better in comparison.
As Captain Ed notes, Best Buy (like Target, based in the Twin Cities) also bans the bell - but I never shop there. It's like shopping in a dumpster during a hailstorm - I always leave there with a headache. Anything I need from Best Buy, I can get online or at Circuit City (which I vastly prefer) or at Nanosystems.
Target's another story. Good prices, good service, good location - hard to turn up my nose at it.
But Target has squandered a lot more of my goodwill than they'd care to measure.
NOTE: Doh. I originally put the story in 2002-2003. I actually meant it as corrected above - 1992-1993. Sorry about any confusion.
Posted by Mitch at
November 18, 2004 08:13 AM
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This is a hard one. I tend to agree with James, I'll just send a larger check to S.A. I like Target, as you say, better prices, etc. I hate WalMart. So what's a girl to do? I think I'm going to go with James. Plus, I don't think they'll will notice a boycott from me, and I'm the untimate loser. I guess I'm just stating the obvious dilemma here. No great insights
Posted by: Silver at November 18, 2004 03:20 PMThis is a hard one. I tend to agree with James, I'll just send a larger check to S.A. I like Target, as you say, better prices, etc. I hate WalMart. So what's a girl to do? I think I'm going to go with James. Plus, I don't think they'll will notice a boycott from me, and I'm the ultimate loser. I guess I'm just stating the obvious dilemma here. No great insights
Posted by: Silver at November 18, 2004 03:21 PMhttp://www.hughhewitt.com/
and he disagrees with Lileks.....
He has a real boycott going....
As for me, I shop at both Target and Walmart (just down the street from one another) - both sell about the same things.
I think it was wrong to ban SA and so I have sent a protest letter to Target' as many others have, telling them I will not shop there until SA can return with their red kettle.
Posted by: kcourt at November 18, 2004 06:35 PMAround here, there's no real alternative to Target. The nearest Wal-Mart is 15 miles of bad traffic away, KMart ditched town about two years ago (unlamented, to be sure), and Fred Meyer doesn't have what you're looking for 75% of the time.
Posted by: Vexorg at November 19, 2004 02:12 AMI have a KMart near me, and I shop there quite a lot. Don't like the store much, but it's handy in terms of proximity. And I like supporting the underdog.
I've e-mailed Target to tell them that I'm going to avoid shopping at their stores for the foreseeable future. I appreciate that pressure groups have put them in an awkward position, but my gosh! Somebody's got to stand up and say "Enough already! We're not going to let our beloved (and useful) cultural traditions be censored by some kind of official board of political correctness."
Posted by: Lars Walker at November 19, 2004 10:53 AMHere are my comments to the Target Corporation...I was so very disappointed in this organization because I have worked for the Salvation Army while in college...that organization brought so much life and hope into the underprivileged children I worked with...it wasn't just camp. It gave hope for life.
11/18/04
Hello.
I am a very frequent and heavy SuperTarget shopper. I am a typical mother who decides that your store is convenient, clean and a one-stop shopping place. I have also decided that despite its somewhat higher prices than other chain stores, the convenience was worth it. I have as of recently spent $150-250 dollars weekly there for not only groceries, but clothing for my family, photos and gifts for others. I have also purchased very large ticket items for my immediate family's birthdays, as well as furnishings for my home there.
However, I am also a former camp counselor for the Salvation Army. I counseled and organized camping programs for underpriviged children in the Chicago area for 2 summers. It was a very well run camp and some of these children were able to have great opportunities that they would never have in the area of Chicago that they lived. I heard that you are not allowing bell-ringers at your stores.
I look very much forward to giving my donation EVERY CHRISTMAS and having my children help give money to the bell-ringers. I explain that much of Christmas is about giving; I explain that others have needs that we have to opportunity to help out with the resources we have been given. My husband and I were talking about re-opening our Sam's Club account to save money and I didn't pursue it because I was somewhat happy with your store. I have since reconsidered. I hope you change your policy. Our family considers OUR PART in giving in charity a very vital part of our traditions and will shop at places that honor that. We cannot in good conscience honor your store when the store does not value and honor what we deem to be a virtuous organization. I will be informing former co-workers from the camp I worked as well as friends and family. I wish you the best and hope that your organization understands that WE, the shoppers and consumers want to give to others. That is nice that you have your own giving to organizations, but WE want to do that and teach our children that value.
Thank you.
Posted by: go big red at November 19, 2004 03:28 PM