the fucking Salvation Army sent us paper mail asking for donations
a lot of people don't realize that it is a religious organization (it's right there in the name) with a strong anti-queer agenda. we have friends who've been personally affected by the discriminatory manner in which they provide services and by the hateful conduct of their staff.
donate to local food banks and shelters, not to the Salvation Army. thank you.
@irenes I refuse to help the Salvation Army because it is a religious organization. They have a strong anti-LGBTQIA+ agenda while claiming to want to help people. That's not helping people, that's hurting people. Don't give any money to the Salvation Army. Bypass them - give money in #direct #mutualaid instead.
@housepanther While I agree with you in general here, when an emergency hits, the Salvation Army hits the ground and helps everyone, unlike the American Red Cross which sits back and watches until it’s almost over and then races in to take credit. @irenes @merileedkarr
@inaya I was a shelter manager during Hurricane Katrina. The ARC did nothing, but had 2 reps who sat in chairs at the shelter. The SA brought us blankets even though their own building was completely flooded and they had nowhere to go. When the public shelters closed, the RC opened 2 of their own, pretended they’d been open all along, and took all the press. It was disgusting. @irenes @merileedkarr @housepanther
@AlliFlowers @housepanther @irenes @merileedkarr I’m very anti-Red Cross. My dad was a paramedic, and when he offered his services, they turned him down. They were only interested in money.
But I’ll never give the SA any credit for doing anything more than proselytising. They prey on the vulnerable. My parents had a friend who got wrapped up in it. It’s nothing more than a cult. “Help” comes with strings attached.
@inaya In this case, the people who benefitted from the help of the SA had no idea where the help came from. They delivered blankets silently and went on about their business. @housepanther @irenes @merileedkarr
@inaya @AlliFlowers @housepanther @merileedkarr yeah for the record we don't have personal experiences and those of our friends to calibrate on with the Red Cross as we do with the SA, but their reputation is not good. there's also the thing where the American Red Cross and the US FDA spent a long, long time each blaming the other for queermisic blood donation policies..... (we got too frustrated to keep up to date on it, the last time we were was a few years ago)
@inaya @AlliFlowers @housepanther @merileedkarr in general with the organizations that everyone has heard of, it's important to look at their financial reports - it's often the case that everyone's heard of them because they spend most of their donations on marketing rather than on providing services
we would not want anyone to become disillusioned with non-profits on our account (we work for one!), we just want to educate people on how to navigate the landscape
@merileedkarr @AlliFlowers @housepanther @irenes It’s important for people to understand that not all “non-profits” are the same. Just because they claim to be something, it doesn’t mean folks should just blindly hand their money over to them. Getting a 501(C) destination is scarily easy in the US.
@irenes charity navigator is a great resource. @inaya @housepanther @merileedkarr
@irenes We donate platelets weekly, but not with the RC. @inaya @housepanther @merileedkarr
@irenes @AlliFlowers @merileedkarr @housepanther I haven’t really seen that happen. Both groups do very little to help those in need. The SA only offers help in hopes of bringing more to their freaky cult.