Everyone I know acted as if I wanted to shoot puppies when I said I liked Target's idea to NOT ALLOW the red kettle Salvation Army outside it's stores three years ago.

But here's the thing. I have NO problem donating to these guys once or twice a year. What becomes annoying is when you're doing your Christmas shopping and have to pass these guys 10 times in a single day!

They position themselves directly in front of or next to the door (sometimes doubling up and even having one at the entrance and one at the exit) and hit you up for cash.

I KNOW you don't have to give them anything, but I come from a Catholic family and guilt is a huge part of being raised Catholic I feel like a bad person every single time I pass these people by without giving more money. Nevermind I just dropped $5.00 in at the last store!

It gets to where I don't shop at a store just to avoid dealing with it! So when Target said no more I was happy to hear it.

Now, they've taken it a step forward and made it a win-win. Not simply disallowing the pan-handling, but taking several steps to get the Salvation Army their money in another way.

I'd like to give a huge thumbs up to Target for figuring out a way to keep the customers satisfaction level high while still doing their part for the community!

Here's the MSNBC news story...



Target Corp. is slipping $1 million into The Salvation Army’s kettle, but it still won’t allow the familiar holiday bell-ringers in front of its stores.

This will be the third year that Target has banned the bell-ringers from its stores. But Salvation Army spokeswoman Melissa Temme said other changes could make up much of the $9 million the charity used to raise each year in front of Target stores.

Besides the cash donation, Target will donate the profits from a $9.99 Salvation Army ornament that is hitting store shelves this week, Temme said. It will also put a link on its Web site to accept Salvation Army donations.

“We expect it to be successful. We don’t know what to expect as far as the ultimate monetary gain,” Temme said. “But we know that this will enable us to help more people simply because we’ll be bringing in more money.”

Target said it has “a long-standing relationship that includes providing financial resources for disaster relief, as well as supporting local chapters through grant and volunteer programs.”

Target stopped allowing Salvation Army bell-ringers in 2004 to make its policy against fundraising at its stores consistent. It also wanted to spare shoppers the potential discomfort of being asked for donations.