I will never shop at Target again.

[Dark_5.0]

I got this off another site.

____________________________________________

I got this in a email and thought all who support our troops and are currently serving should read.

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 the arts, social actions, gay
and lesbian causes, and education."

My thought: If the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and veterans in general, do
not meet their donation criteria, something is wrong at Target.

We were not asking for thousands of dollars, not even hundreds, but simply
sponsorship of an 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 purchasing anything at Target Stores
again. If the Vietnam Veteran or Veterans in general do not meet
their area of giving, then why should I, as a Vietnam veteran,
spend my hard earned money in the ir stores?

Please pass this on to as many people as you know.

Sincerely,
Veterans Helping Veterans

PS: Target will also not allow the Marines to
collect for Toys For Tots during the holidays.

[Hethj7]

That is ridiculous. It is easy enough for me to go to Wal- Mart instead, which is exactly what I will do.

[Dark_5.0]

Originally posted by Hethj7
That is ridiculous. It is easy enough for me to go to Wal- Mart instead, which is exactly what I will do.

Right on!!!............They will donate to a bunch of fudge packers but not to veterans.

Idiots,

[blue00gt]

Sounds like I will be boycotting Target, but as for going to Wal-mart instead, they are horrible in their own right. They give full-time employees no benefits and pay them so little in some cases that they are eligible for welfare!

[0h n0 5.0]

first of all, don't beleive everything you read. secondly, if your intriqued about it, please do some more research before labeling an entity w/ libel an slander. thats unprofessional. I work for Target an I know we do a lot for our community but i also know some inside information about our organization. . we also do alot of social work. march is youth reading awarness month an we had in store employees reading to kids, going to schools to read. we do a visa credit program by which 1% of all purchases go to the k-12 school of our guest's choice.. we sponsor the Redcross, March of dimes, Salvation Army, Target house... we actually do a lot of things for giving back to the community...

but we can't do everything.

Target has decided not to tackle verteran affairs. I can assure you that this policy was in place long before 9/11 or GW II, (45 years I beleive) that's our choice just because a lot of extra paperwork, security, and personel goes into that specifically securing accouting practices, making sure collected donations are recorded and acurately accounted for. A Lot of paperwork that i'm sure i'm leaving out also.
depending on which location you go to (Target, SuperTarget, Marshalls, Mervyns..) each store is its own entitiy based on a coorporate design (store layout/design, products, policies, and community action/charity causes. but some of the cooporate policies are frequently changed jus due to overwhelming support from an area.

as far as charity goes. anybody can write a check, thats simple/albeit somewhat hollow sincerity. but to actually take the time to interact w/the community through service programs is greater in my opinion.

ps. we offer full benefits, competitive wages, for ALL employees

[The Deuce]

I don't buy you response Oh no 5.0.

"Tackling Veteran's affairs"? WTF?

It's not like they were asking for a new VA hospital. All they wanted was to be able to say that Target supported the remembrance. Oooh, big cost there.

that's our choice just because a lot of extra paperwork, security, and personel goes into that specifically securing accouting practices

Are you Target's CFO? Controller? Cash receipts clerck? I was under the impression that they don't tell everyone that they hand a paycheck to all the internal controls that surround handling money, and especially methods of soliciting donations.

But then what do I know, I'm only an accountant.

How about you, as such an insider, find out why they chose to not give a rip about the guys that came back to a country that could apparently care less. Then you can jump down our throats about it.

[0h n0 5.0]

no Duece, i'm a wage slave. but our philosophy is to work as a team. i work with very open management that cares what i think, wants to hear whats wrong or good, an values my input to make the store better. those that care about the company can get any info they need to better improve the store, there are no walls in my company, only open doors.

.the fact is our charity can only stretch so far. we give 2 Million a week back to the community..not through simple money contributions, but through community involvement, volunteer programs,etc.

why the bring the veteran thing up now? cause of the war? did you hate us before you found out? or are you riding the "patriot bandwagon" instead of thinking logically? we're a finite entity an we can't please everybody who asks for contributions or recognition...but that dosen't mean we don't respect them or their cause.

i'm sorry if we don't parade every kiwinis club, girl scout troop, or other charity in front of the store to intimidate our guests, we jus beleived you came to shop, not be solicited.

I know my location respects all of our veterans,(have a few workin for us) but we also believe that signing a simple piece of paper, endorsing something, pales to what our true gratitude is. its a bit hollow an we'd rather thank you in person.

[The Deuce]

Originally posted by 0h n0 5.0

why the bring the veteran thing up now? cause of the war? did you hate us before you found out? or are you riding the "patriot bandwagon" instead of thinking logically? we're a finite entity an we can't please everybody who asks for contributions or recognition...but that dosen't mean we don't respect them or their cause.

The reason I get upset when anybody, anytime speaks out against, or merely fails to support our military (and our vets) is really quite simple. I know people active and retired in the service from E-1's to Col.'s.

I've seen first hand the effect it has one these guys coming home and trying to blend back in with the rest of us. I've been privaleged enough to hear their stories, stories they keep from their own wives and daughters because of the horrors of what they've seen and had to do.

Forgive me for being a little defensive. That happens when you have a family member who's a Vietnam Vet. It's dang near impossible to get information out of him, and I'm floored any and everytime I do.

[0h n0 5.0]

hey deuce i'm not mad at ya man, its kool to see someone passionate about an issue. beats the hell out of lethargy. i

is it wrong we choose not to "officially sponsor" an organization dedicated to VFW or is it more meaningful an personal when we welcome servicemen an vets an shake their hands? i don't know. i kinda perfer the second one though.

[Crazy Horse GT]

Originally posted by The Deuce
The reason I get upset when anybody, anytime speaks out against, or merely fails to support our military (and our vets) is really quite simple. I know people active and retired in the service from E-1's to Col.'s.

I've seen first hand the effect it has one these guys coming home and trying to blend back in with the rest of us. I've been privaleged enough to hear their stories, stories they keep from their own wives and daughters because of the horrors of what they've seen and had to do.

Forgive me for being a little defensive. That happens when you have a family member who's a Vietnam Vet. It's dang near impossible to get information out of him, and I'm floored any and everytime I do.

as a 2 time combat zone vet, target will get none of my business, straight up. that's lame,sorry but thats how it is, they support fag's, but not vet's, what the hell is wrong with that picture, quite a bit,i hope target sink's like k-mart, damn.

[ed1371]

the internet is often used to spread silly crap like this all the time... so all the vets can cool down, go to:

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

and save the site in your favorites...when you get a wierd email...search it here first. Odds are it will pop up as a chain letter...

[explicitone]

I still will not shop at target ,I have 2 friends in the gulf right now.

and any american company or person that will not support our troops but will support gays will not get my money.............

[ed1371]

Originally posted by explicitone
I still will not shop at target ,I have 2 friends in the gulf right now.

and any american company or person that will not support our troops but will support gays will not get my money.............

Did you READ the whole article? perhaps a better question is do you understand what happened?

It is not an issue of supporting gays/military... regardless of your personal feelings, EVERY American has certain civil liberties no matter what thier sexual orientation is. I HAVE to believe this or I would have been wasteing the past 11 years of my life (with 9 to go) in the Marine Corps. Discrimination on any level is still just that...

Anyway, I am done with my ranting and wont engage in this debate anymore.

[0h n0 5.0]

hey ed, thanks for bunkin this urban myth.

[Mr 5 0]

For those who are seeking an alternative to Target - for whatever reason - here's something that may be of interest.

Sears announced last week that they will extend benefits and supplemental pay for their employees who are calle to active military duty. Sears said it will supplement the difference of salary between civilian pay and military service pay because military pay is generally lower and places financial hardships on those called to active duty.

Sears also gives its military employees the option of continuing to participate in the company's medical, dental and 401(k) plans.

Classy - and worth remembering when you plan your shopping, especially if you are put off by Target or any other outlet. Here's an alternative.

[Hethj7]

That is nice to hear Mr. 5.0. Thanks for the input.

Perhaps I was a little quick to judge Target on this one. With chain letters and other 'scams' all over the net, I should know better than to jump to conclusions on something like this.

Thanks to those that are letting level heads prevail on this thread .

[bigbandjohn]

Or K-mart as the case may be...

"Kresgee"-Mart (in case you were wondering what the K stands for) is Chapter 11. Good chance to revive an old company instead of pumping into that monopoly Wal-Mart if you are set on boycotting Target.

Personally, it won't change my shopping habits. Why? There are no Targets near me. I only have K-mart and Wal-mart to choose from anyway...

[RBatson]

Originally posted by Mr 5 0

Sears announced last week that they will extend benefits and supplemental pay for their employees who are calle to active military duty. Sears said it will supplement the difference of salary between civilian pay and military service pay because military pay is generally lower and places financial hardships on those called to active duty.

OMG! Not trying to be an ****** here Jim but, so does every other major corporation. I'm starting to think its a law or something. Its like pulling Jury Duty, the company pays the difference. Nothing against Sears but do they honestly have any full -time employees?? Seriously?!? I think they were one of the first to cut back to only part-time help to save money on benefits to thier workers.

As for me, I'll shop Targets any chance I get, I'll shop Wal-mart too. Sears?? I go there when I need something. We all need something at sometime or another and one is as good as the next as long as it says Made In America on the label. Believe me, I spent a whole day looking for deck shoes that where made in the good old USA. As far as I'm concerned, they all should carry items that are made in America, thats what I personally look for.....

[RBatson]

Duece, you're an ******* and I'm sure you've heard that before. I curse the day you found the mustangworks.

[84LX89GT]

I worked at target for awhile in high school and this is what i found out:
Target is a scumbag corporation just like any corporation that will donate to charities to get recognition and advertisement, Vietnam was a controversial war and it's most likely Target is afraid of their image being affiliated with the Vietnam war. Corporate target thinks in terms of dollars, like any other company so a minority group like vietnam vets are not a prime demographic.

The "team" atmosphere/philosophy is a brainwashing technique used to keep employees happy with crappy wages and if you're family you're alot less likely to steal or be angry at the company. The target "team" is just like any other company "team". notice how every crappy job describes people working in "teams". I also worked at Jack in the Box during my first year of high school where i was a "crew member" making minimum wage without any benefits and i was supposed to be a "productive part of a team". Every company does this in one way or another, but the ones that emphasize it the most are usually doing it to boost morale for other areas that are lacking.
I'd much rather make good wages and have personal responsibility than be part of a team, but that's just me.

I have very biased opinions, and they are just that: opinions, but i don't shop at target anymore anyway because of how phony the company was as well as the people running it. I also don't eat at Jack in the box for a few reasons i won't disclose (things every jack in the box store does that worry me). and also for how phony the company and it's policies were. In fact, i don't like much of any companies but those two are highest on my hate list.

My rambling is done,
Over and out