| OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
The editorials represent the opinion of the
Avalanche-Journal Editorial Board, which consists of Publisher David C. Sharp, Editor
Burle Pettit, Editorial Page Editor Joe Hughes and editorial writers Bob Horton and Joe
Sunday, March 22, 1998Last modified at 3:20 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, 1998
WE HAVE ALL seen advertisements for charities that spotlight poverty-stricken children in various countries and invite respondents to "sponsor" individual children.
The Chicago Tribune conducted an interesting donor's-eye-view investigation of four such charities. The investigation revealed that the concept of sponsoring children was not quite as it was portrayed in the television commercials.
Twelve children were sponsored, beginning in 1995, by reporters who made no mention of their employment at the newspaper. After two years, the journalists traveled to look up the children that they had sponsored and to find out how the donations had been used.
One of the reporters had sponsored a girl in Mali. However, after arriving at the girl's village, the reporter learned that the child had died shortly after the sponsorship began.
However, the charity continued to accept donations in the name of the girl - $480 over a two-year period - without notifying the donor of the death.
The charities involved defended the individual sponsorship approach and claimed that the donors understand that the money is not going to the actual children but to support the community in which the children live.
We disagree that donors clearly understand how their money is being spent. A great many of them probably believe that their money is going to help a particular child.
There is nothing wrong with using charitable contributions to help a poverty-stricken village. However, portraying an appeal for donations with the false suggestion that the money will help a specific child is deceptive.
Charities should be honest in the appeals they make to potential donors. Generous people who want to help others should have an accurate knowledge of how their money is being spent.
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