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  • 2002-11-03 (xsd:date)
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  • Rumors About Target (en)
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  • FALSE: The Target Corporation does not contribute to veterans' causes.FALSE: The Target Corporation is French-owned.FALSE: The Target Corporation is Muslim-controlled.FALSE: The Target Corporation provides corporate grants only for 'gay and lesbian causes.'FALSE: The Target Corporation does not contribute to the U.S. Marine Corps' 'Toys for Tots' program.TRUE: The Target Corporation does not allow Salvation Army bellringers to solicit contributions in front of its stores.FALSE: The Target Corporation does not allow reservists called to active duty to continue their health benefits. Examples: [Collected via e-mail, November 2002] [Collected via e-mail, June 2013] As Strother Martin's character wryly observed in the film Cool Hand Luke, What we've got here is failure to communicate. Dick Forrey, a member of the Indiana-based Howard County Vietnam Veterans organization, rashly penned the above message in March 2002 after failing to secure a $100 sponsorship for a traveling Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall exhibit from his local Target store. Mr. Forrey was rebuffed, because Target does not give out cash donations through local stores; they donate money only at the corporate level, and only through grants to organizations falling within their defined general areas of giving. Mr. Forrey has since apologized for his mistake and issued a retraction: Target also explained their side of the story: In fact, the Target Corporation donates a tremendous amount of money to charitable causes every year, and in both 2002 and 2003 they topped Forbes magazine's list of America's Most Philanthropic Companies. Among the many organizations to which Target donates are veteran-related causes, including exhibits like the one for which Mr. Forrey was seeking a contribution: As the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) noted on their website: Since the anti-Target message first began to circulate, several other claims have been tacked onto it by those seeking to make Target look bad: that Target responds to charitable requests by stating they only support 'gay and lesbian causes,' that Target is French-owned, and that Target does not contribute to the Toys for Tots program sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, and that Target refused to allow reservist employees who had been activated to continue their health benefits: (en)
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