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Wal-Mart solicitation questioned

August 20, 2008|George Lewis

Jerry Bailey devotes his life to helping abused and neglected children. So when he saw two teen-aged girls soliciting money at Wal-Mart for abused children last Wednesday, he naturally gravitated to them.

"I asked for a brochure and information and they had absolutely nothing," Bailey said.

As executive director of CASA for the 28th Judicial Circuit, Bailey grew suspicious of the teens, who told him they were emissaries of an organization called Reach Family. CASA supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in safe, permanent homes.

Concerned about the solicitors' authenticity, Bailey searched the web for Reach Family and found a group of that name. But in an e-mail response to a query from Bailey, a representative of Reach Family said, "We do not have any associates in the state of Kentucky. We are not collecting money for any project in either state. We offer services only within the state of South Carolina. These girls do not represent our company."

The teens gave Dep. Sim Thacker a slightly different story. Thacker said the teens told him they represented a group called Reach, based in Alabama. Thacker called a phone number the teens gave him for verification and was told by the person on the other end of the line that the girls were legitimately collecting money for that organization. The closest a web search could come in a search for "Reach Alabama" was an organization called Reach Out And Read, which promotes children's literacy in Alabama.

Thacker said the female teens had by then been joined by a teen-aged boy, who produced a photocopy of an expired driver's license as identification.

Thacker said he conferred with County Attorney Daryl Day, who concluded that the teens were not acting unlawfully.

The teens had received permission from Wal-Mart management to solicit money in front of the store early last week, said a Wal-Mart assistant manager who refused to give his full name.

A spokesperson at Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters said her company appreciates Bailey's concern.

Bailey said he found it worrisome that the teens couldn't give him more information about their organization.

"I raise money for abused children too, and I have a hard enough time raising it legitimately. When something like this happens, it gives everyone a bad name," he said.

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