Last week, Soles4Souls sued another charity for a serious breach of trust. We found some of our donated shoes being sold online, rather than on a ship to help needy kids in Africa, where they were supposed to go.
It pains me to take this action, but it’s the only action possible in light of the events. Charities are supposed to be completely transparent and trustworthy, and when something like this happens, all charities that “play by the rules” are affected in a negative way.
That’s not right, and we’re angry. We’re angry for those needy kids who were supposed to get free shoes, for our partners who expected their generous gift to help those in need, and we’re angry for our staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to make the GIFT of shoes possible.
We work very hard to keep our manufacturer partners protected from “dilution” when they donate products to us. Our reputation IS our currency.
The bottom line is this: we require that all our distribution partners sign air-tight agreements on where they can GIVE the shoes away. And in this case, that agreement wasn’t followed.
We’re not trying to change the world, one SALE at a time… it’s a gift.
December 17, 2008 at 9:19 pm |
That stinks, Wayne. How sad. I think this is part of the reason people are hesitant to give – they don’t know where their donation is going. There is so much deception in the world that we have become sceptics. You don’t hear enough about the charities that are going great and haven’t had any “issues”. People only hear the bad, therefore making them all bad.
Truthfully, I don’t know if I 100% agree with the lawsuit, but I understand why you are doing it. Praying for a quick end to a lousy situation.
Keep sending those shoes!
December 18, 2008 at 6:24 am |
that is so unfortunate. i will be praying for this situation!