From: Terry Soden (ibherb@charter.net)
Date: Sat Nov 16 2002 - 09:32:07 PST
>From this day forth they will not recieve my money either
Terry Soden
Semper Gumby (always flexible)
Former CPL of Marines
M1010 (daily driver)
AND Vietnam Vet
----- Original Message -----
From: <ddoyle9570@aol.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 8:52 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] Fwd: FW: Vietnam Veterans Not Worthy Of Target's Help@#?
> Speaking of Vietnam Veterans....are there anyone on the list who served
there with signal construction units? I need some help with a couple Signal
Corps trucks I am restoring.
>
> About Target....
>
> From the urban legends webpage.....
>
> Claim: Target stores do not consider Vietnam veterans 'worthy of help.'
> Status: Ambiguous.
>
> Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2002]
>
>
> TARGET STORES DO NOT SUPPORT VETERANS!!!
> Subject: Vietnam vets not worthy?
>
> Vietnam Veterans Not Worthy Of Target's Help?
> By Dick Forrey, Vietnam Veterans Association.
>
> We asked our local Target store to be a sponsor of the Vietnam Veterans'
Memorial Wall during our spring recognition event. We received back a reply
from Target management that "veterans do not meet our area of giving. We
only donate to the areas of arts, social actions and education."
>
> My thought: If the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and the Vietnam veteran
himself, does not meet the criteria of these areas, something is wrong at
Target. We were not asking for thousands of dollars, not even hundreds, but
simply sponsorship endorsement for a "memorial remembrance".
>
> As follow-up, I e-mailed the Corporate Headquarters and their response was
the same. Personally, I will NOT be buying anything at Target Stores again.
If the Vietnam Veteran does not meet their area of giving then why should I
as a Vietnam veteran, spend my hard earned money in their stores?
>
> Please pass this on to as many people as you know. Maybe Target and other
businesses will get the message.
>
>
>
>
> Origins: As
> Strother Martin's character wryly commented in Cool Hand Luke, "What we've
got here is failure to communicate."
> Dick Forrey, of the Howard County Vietnam Veterans organization in Indiana
penned the above after failing to secure endorsement for a travelling
Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall exhibit from his local Target store. In
response, Target's customers relations group wrote:
>
>
> We want to clearly and completely apologize for any misunderstanding
regarding Target's support of the Vietnam Wall and our corporate giving
program. Giving back to the communities where our stores are located is
something we're proud to do. In fact, nationwide, Target Corporation gives
more than $2 million a week to the communities in which we serve.
>
> In March of 2002, a veteran approached one of our stores seeking a $100
donation for a display of the "moving wall" in his area. Target does support
events in the communities in which our stores are located. While each store
determines which events to sponsor, any contribution is limited and is made
in the form of a gift card. The stores are not able to give cash
contributions to any organization. Stores are also able to donate volunteer
hours to community events and projects.
>
> Our corporate giving program that does incorporate cash donations is
handled through a process called grants. Unfortunately, the veteran and his
organization were not provided the proper information to facilitate
consideration of a grant from either the store or our corporate office. The
initial response of the team member at the store and the reply from our
corporate office are inconsistent with the respectful manner in which we
want all of our guests to be treated. We are truly sorry for this oversight
and the resulting confusion that has taken place.
>
> We accept all applications for grants from January 1 to September 30 of
each calendar year. Any guest can request a grants application brochure at
their local store, called "Grant Guidelines." Veterans programs may be
considered for grants if the subject matter falls into one of our three
general areas of giving: education, arts and family violence prevention.
>
> Guests can also access a grant application at our web site.
>
> This is certain: Target appreciates the dedication and service of all our
veterans. Thank you again for your interest.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Daniel Cleland
> Group Team Leader
> Guest Relations
>
> The first issue is that the Target store approached by Mr. Forrey wasn't
able to provide a donation because Target corporate policy doesn't allow
donations to be made at the local store level, only at the corporate level,
and any such donation would have to be requested through Target's Community
Giving grant program. (Mr. Forrey's original message says that his veterans'
group was seeking "simply sponsorship endorsement for a 'memorial
remembrance"; Target's reply indicates the group asked for a $100
contribution.) Still, the Target Guest Relations "mea culpa" quoted above
tends to confirm that nobody at either the local or the corporate level at
Target told Mr. Forrey about the grant program (at least initially), and it
seems a bit self-serving of Target to respond to the negative publicity he
generated by pointing to their grant program when they'd already told Mr.
Forrey that they "limit funding to the areas of arts and family violence
prevention" and therefore his cause wouldn't qualify.
> Still, to be thorough we e-mailed Mr. Forrey and asked him if his issue
with Target had ever been resolved. He responded as follows:
>
>
> They did send me a letter by e-mail telling me about the grant program
which I have no problem with as many Companies do it that way. They told me
to get a grant form and fill it out so I tried to print one and it would not
let me have one as again we as veterans do not qualify for their grant
program.
> (If a grant applicant using Target's web site indicates that his request
does not deal with the areas of arts and family violence prevention, he
receives a "We are unable to consider your request" message rather than a
link to a submittable application form.)
> When we asked Mr. Forrey if he had filed a grant application anyway, he
said, "I didn't submit a grant application as they would not give me one."
This is a bit of a weak excuse, as the grant application form is readily
available on Target's web site, even if their preliminary questions indicate
the applicant may not qualify for consideration. Before a grant-seeker
denounces Target for not considering Vietnam veterans "worthy of help" and
urges that consumers shop elsewhere, it behooves him to at least go through
the formal procedure of actually applying for a grant.
>
> No winner here -- sounds like both parties should go back to their
corners.
>
> Last updated: 4 November 2002
>
>
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