Monday, May 22, 2006

Targeted



I received this e-mail about Target...

Wasn't it last Christmas that Target refused to let the Salvation Army ring their bells in front of their stores?

Dick Forrey of the Vietnam Veterans Association wrote, "Recently we asked the local TARGET store to be a proud sponsor of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall during our spring recognition event.

We received the following reply from the local TARGET management: " Veterans do not meet our area of giving. We only donate to the arts, social action groups, gay & lesbian causes, and education."

So I'm thinking, if the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and veterans in general, do not meet their donation criteria, then something is really wrong at this TARGET store. We were not asking for thousands of dollars, not even hundreds, just a small sponsorship for a memorial remembrance.

As a follow-up, I e-mailed the TARGET U.S. Corporate Headquarters and their response was the same. That's their national policy.

Then I looked into the company further. They will not allow the Marines to collect for 'Toys for Tots' at any of their stores. And during the recent Iraq deployment, they would not allow families of employees who were called up for active duty to continue their insurance coverage while they were on military service. Then as I dig further, TARGET is a French-owned corporation.

Now, I'm thinking again. If TARGET cannot support American Veterans, then why should my family and I support their stores by spending our hard earned American dollars!

And, have their profits sent to France.

Without the American Vets, where would France be today?

"They, most likely would be speaking German and trading in Deutsch Marks"

Sincerely,
Dick Forrey
Veterans Helping Veterans


Please send this on to everyone you know to let Target know we don't need them either!

18 comments:

cube said...

I don't know about you, but it makes me appreciate WalMart all the more.

Jay Noel said...

Don't forget about all the Americans that rely on Target for their livelihood. Boycotting won't do anything - since too many of us love our Target stores.

The best thing we can do is to expose this policy and get media attention to it. They hate bad publicity.

WomanHonorThyself said...

Dang thats not good at all!..thanks for sharin this Cube.UGH.

cube said...

Exposing their wretched behavior through bad publicity is the best way to change their corporate policy.

nanc said...

if i were a cursing woman, i'd say, "screw them" in some not-so-ladylike language. foul language never solved any great matters, so i'll just keep giving wal-mart three to four hundred dollars a week, thank you.

oh, and screw the people who depend on target for their livelihood. that's what i'd say if i were a potty mouth.

Chief RZ said...

Walmart, and if I ever go to Target, I will leave some military stickers, and spread this story.

cube said...

nanc: it's a good thing you're not a potty mouth ;-)

chief: spread the word. That's the best way to fight this bad behavior.

Always On Watch said...

My husband and I quit shopping at Target some time back. And my husband's language is not polite. Any company which won't support our veterans is not for us.

Jamie Dawn said...

There's only three Target stores in all of AR. They are building a fourth one just outside of Little Rock. I'm not close enough to shop at any of the Targets here.
Walmart is my only good option. We have a couple of grocery stores and a Walgreens, but it works best for me to get it all done at one of the three Walmart SuperCenters within fifteen miles from my house.
Sam Walton is a god here, as you can well imagine.

Dak-Ind said...

i have heard of their polices before this, we dont shop there. my husband is a serivce connected disabled veteran and the orginization he belongs to (the DAV... Disabled Veterans of America) has been trying to get this same message out for a while now. thanks for the info and the reminder!

cube said...

sarah-jean: the email itself may be a myth, but Target's corporate policies leave much to be desired especially when it comes to the military.

Most Americans helped the war effort during WWII. The same cannot be said about the war on terror & that's a shame.

Sar said...

It's only an Urban Legend, Cube.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/target.asp

nanc said...

legend or not, what target did to the salvation army at christmas was a crying shame and they do not deserve the business of good people who support the work of the Lord!

besides, wal-mart gives tens of millions of dollars in scholarships each year to worthy teens across the nation who want to attend university in arkansas - i will support them for this issue if no other.

they also employ the otherwise unemployable - our seniors on fixed incomes trying to supplement their meager income!

WAL-MART - WAL-MART - WAL-MART!!!

nuff said.

nanc said...

buck up wendy! for pete's sake, nobody NEEDS target. go for the underlying substance - criminetely, people are watching!

Jessica said...

The choice is easy for me. WalMart is 15 minutes away, Target is hundreds of miles.
I shop at WalMart.

Brooke said...

While I prefer Wal-Mart because it is cheaper..

GUYS! DO NOT put on your boycotting hats just yet.

This is a chain-letter email, and is completely false.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/target.asp

cube said...

I read it. I also read a parsed & cleverly worded apology from Target which IMO doesn't completely get them off the hook. Make up your own minds about that.

Some changes in their policy have
come about as a result of bad publicity, but I could stand to see more change.

Caz said...

I'm still trying to get past the idea of gays & lesbians being a high priority for sponsorhip & support. I'm just not picturing Target being a central hot spot for gay & lesbian shoppers.