Make-a-Wish took donations from "porn" convention

[Guest starvenger]

Here's the link to the article

 

Local Make-A-Wish Foundation bombarded with e-mails over fund-raiser

 

Friday, May 09, 2003

 

By Steve Levin, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

 

A nationwide e-mail campaign against the local Make-A-Wish Foundation has been organized by a family values organization that claims the Pittsburgh chapter accepted donations from "pornographic programs" during a recent comic book convention.

 

In the past 10 days, more than 15,000 e-mails have flooded the office of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, decrying its association with the Pittsburgh Comicon held April 25-27 at the Pittsburgh Expo Mart in Monroeville. The show featured appearances by models, including fully clothed former Playboy Playmates, along with the sale of Playboy magazine, in addition to booths devoted to comics, games and fantasy art.

 

The e-mail campaign was organized by the nonprofit American Family Association, formed in 1977 by the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon to promote traditional family values in the news media. The association's Web site (www.afa.net) provides links to both the national and local Make-A-Wish foundations in its Action Alert section under the headline: "Make-A-Wish defends chapter's porn convention proceeds."

 

The national Make-A-Wish Foundation office responded that individual chapters make their own fund-raising decisions.

 

Judith Stone, president and chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, said her office initially answered the e-mails, pointing out that the chapter doesn't benefit from the comic book convention per se, but from an auction and an all-ages casino night held at the adjoining Radisson Hotel on Friday and Saturday night after the convention closed.

 

But Stone said the volume and tenor of the e-mails led her staff to stop responding.

 

"We're never going to have agreement on this," she said. "We went [to the convention] and we were not offended. Nobody has ever been offended."

 

The 102 Make-A-Wish foundations around the world grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. The local foundation, celebrating its 20th year, covers 33 southwestern Pennsylvania counties and 23 counties in southern West Virginia. It has granted more wishes -- in excess of 5,200 -- than any other chapter in the world.

 

This year, it received about $27,000 from the Pittsburgh Comicon.

 

In a statement yesterday, Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Northwestern Pennsylvania, said the Make-A-Wish Foundation's continued association with the comic book convention affects its work.

 

"How can families trust an organization that readily accepts money that has been gleaned from a porn-laden event?" asked Gramley.

 

Between 8,000 and 10,000 people attended the convention this year, according to its marketing director, Patrick Thomas

Nice to see that a few Playboy models and some dealers selling adult comic books (to adults) makes a comicon a porn con. Honestly, I had no idea that X-Men and Spider-Man was porn...

[Guest Spicy McHaggis]

Judith Stone, president and chief executive officer of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, said her office initially answered the e-mails, pointing out that the chapter doesn't benefit from the comic book convention per se, but from an auction and an all-ages casino night held at the adjoining Radisson Hotel on Friday and Saturday night after the convention closed.

That was their mistake. Making excuses makes them look bad. They should have said it wasn't a porn convention and the AFA is overreacting.

[Guest El Satanico]

Why do these people care about HOW they get donations as long as it's by legal means.

 

Shouldn't it be about how they use it and not about how they make it within legal means?

[Guest DrTom]

"How can families trust an organization that readily accepts money that has been gleaned from a porn-laden event?" asked Gramley.

Some people really need to be kicked in the teeth, repeatedly, with steel-toed boots. Fucking clownshoes.

[Guest starvenger]

Why do these people care about HOW they get donations as long as it's by legal means.

 

Shouldn't it be about how they use it and not about how they make it within legal means?

You'd think so, wouldn't you? They're basically trying to say "the ends do not justify the means" but if this hurts the kids that the MaWF helps out, is this really justified?

[Guest hardyz1]

For my 1000th post, I would like to say:

 

I agree with DrTom.

[Guest Bannable Offense]

Make-a-Wish Correspondent: "Sorry little Johnny, we can't send you to Disneyland because Ron Jeremy gave us the money for the ticket."

 

My morality stance for donations is "If it's not drug money and it's not blood money, then gimme, gimme, gimme!"

[Guest BDC]

I'd like to see this parenting group looking a dying kid in the face and tell them they can't meet their hero or live out their dream. Come back after you've done that and justify yourself.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

My sister has a friend, named Beth, who had a lung transplant, financially aided, in part, by a similar charity to that of the Make A Wish Foundation. I'm quite positive that Beth's family and friends did not, do not, and never will care if part of that money for her surgery was contributed to the MAWF by Johnny Legal-Adult-Entertainment-Distributor.

 

When it comes to saving a child's life, or even giving them a big hurrah before they die, the ends justify the means in my book.

[Guest cynicalprofit]

When I talk to Steve tomorrow, I'll make sure to thank him for writing the article.

[Guest Cerebus]

Sad. Just sad.