Two days before Christmas I was shopping at REI in Tempe for gifts for my new husband. I had just returned from a one-year mobilization with the Navy and didn't have a lot of time to shop before Christmas. As I entered the store, I noticed a table with a big "Toys 4 Tots" sign hanging from it and two pleasant young women standing there. They were talking with some other people, so I entered the store.
As I exited the store, one of the young women working at the table called out to me. I went back to hear what she had to say. She asked me if I was interested in donating toys for Toys 4 Tots. There was a big box next to the table filled with toys and just a few toys left on the table. She explained that I could select a toy and put it in the box and that it would be part of the bundle of toys to be donated. My group of friends holds a "Toys 4 Tots" party every year and has for the past 15 or so years. Because I was out of the country, I had missed the party this year. So, the fact that I felt I had this second chance opportunity to contribute to this worthy cause resulted in my donation. I received a donation with the name of "Alliant Promo, Glendale, AZ 85301, (623) 847-1120" at the top.
Fast forward to January 14. I was compiling documents to prepare for my income tax filing. I pulled out the receipt and read the fine print on the back of the receipt. Here is the gist of what it said: 5% of my donation went to Toys 4 Tots and 95% of my donation went to Alliant Promotionz. The exact wording on the receipt is, as follows:
"The corporation is not a charitable organization and the person who is selling the selected merchandise to benefit the Toys For Tots Foundtion is not a volunteer for T4T's but rather, a paid employee of the corporation named on this receipt. The corporation named on this receipt retains 90% of the retail price on the selected merchandise that has the T4T's logo or sticker and no portion of the 90% is used to benefit T4T's or any other non-profit organization."
The bottom line is that this whole operation was a scam. It galls me that these people are allowed to set-up their tables outside of respectable establishments and to dupe well-intentioned people. Shame on REI (if they agreed to allow these scheisters to set-up a table outside their store), shame on Toys For Tots (if they are condoning this practice for their 5% contribution), and shame on Alliant Promotionz for their shameless business practices.
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