United Way Charity

[idontknow]

At my work I can have 1 hour a month go to United Way for a year, and get 1 day off.

So I would get one extra vacation day this summer to support this Charity (pretty much paying 1/2 to get one extra vacation day). I figured I would do this, but I saw something (from a few years ago) about them supporting Planned Parenthood. Although I’m not really sure what that means… (Im not sure it matters, but I live in Kansas.)

So I’m not sure if United Way is a good cause to support or not. Does anyone know if they are something Catholics should support?

 

[Sherry_G]

I do not support United Way as they do fund various charities that are offensive and morally wrong. Some argue that you can designate the exact organization you want your donation to go to, thus you are not responsible for the other wrong things they fund. However, I decided to look at how effective they are at managing the donations they receive and I put my money in donation to Catholic Relief Services, local food banks and my parish ministries, all of whom are very good stewards of the money they collect. Organizations that are headed up by business people who earn six figures or more are not on my list of charities to support. Your company is pressuring you by offering a “free vacation day”. If you don’t give to United Way will they donate the money for the hours they would have paid you during the “free vacation day”? I would suggest that you visit with your HR manager and ask if you can get a free vacation day by directly supporting your individual charity and documenting it to them with a copy of your canceled check. i am pretty sure they will have to allow you this same priviledge.

 

[Saburo]

I saw something (from a few years ago) about them supporting Planned Parenthood.

They also refuse to donate to the Boy Scouts because of their stand on not allowing homosexuals or athiests to be scoutmasters. Additionally, some chapters have listed ACORN as partners before ACORN got busted and went undercover. I have long ago written off this leftist “charity.”

A private organization like the Boy Scouts should have the option of refusing to subject people’s kids to camping trips supervised by those with deviant moral judgement in opposition to those which the organization strives to teach. United Way can keep their leftist friends and their cries of discrimination. I will keep my money or donate it directly to causes they oppose such as BSA. Furthermore, I would rather work than give them the time of day.

 

[nonanon]

So I’m not sure if United Way is a good cause to support or not. Does anyone know if they are something Catholics should support?

Your concerns are well-placed. The problem with advising you on this is that United Way operates more as a “local” organization–exactly which charities are supported varies considerably from place to place. As others have pointed out, many local United Ways support Planned Parenthood and refuse support to BSA–I have problems with both of these.

Before giving, I’d suggest checking out their list of participating charities. In my area, United Way is pretty conservative–I haven’t found Planned Parenthood or ACORN-like groups. Nonetheless, when I give to them I designate 100% of my donation to the specific organizations I want to support, which in my area does include Catholic and other Christian groups. I also now make a separate donation to BSA through their “Friends of Scouting” program.

The nice thing about United Way comes from its original purpose–to allows you to support multiple charities with a single donation. But I agree that in most places their umbrella now includes many charities that Catholics have moral objections to–we need to be careful.

As far as giving your time, I think it depends on what you’re doing. I don’t see any problem with it as long as it’s not supporting groups that are working counter to Church teaching.

 

[quiet52]

I suggest that you do not give in to the strong-arming to donate to United Way. If you designate that your $100 donation goes to “Charity X”, 10 to 15% of your donation goes toward administrative fees and the cut to the national United Way organization – “Charity X” only receives $85 to $90.

Wouldn’t you want your contributions to go directly (and completely) to a charity of your choice?

There are some interesting comments on this discussion forum:
freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2636238/posts

 

[Catholic1954]

At my husband’s job you had to pledge your contribution for one year. One of his coworkers had a financial crisis in his family, tried to cancel it for the last few months and was told, “Sorry about your luck; we are keeping the money.” I would just write an annual check to some worthy Catholic charity.

 

[RC_Patriot]

When you volunteer or donate through the United Way, a portion of your donation at the local level goes toward the fees that local United Way agencies pay to United Way national. The national United Way uses that money to defray their administrative costs, which include the administering all local United Way agencies…several of which provide grants to Plannned Parenthood…a known abortion provider. So, if you donate or volunteer with United Way at the local or national level, you too have the blood of the innocents on your hands. By the way, the Combined Federal Campaign uses donation monies in a similar fashion, and they administer donations to Planned Parenthood, NARAL and agencies that promote homosexuality.

 

[RC_Patriot]

Your concerns are well-placed. The problem with advising you on this is that United Way operates more as a “local” organization–exactly which charities are supported varies considerably from place to place. As others have pointed out, many local United Ways support Planned Parenthood and refuse support to BSA–I have problems with both of these.

Before giving, I’d suggest checking out their list of participating charities. In my area, United Way is pretty conservative–I haven’t found Planned Parenthood or ACORN-like groups. Nonetheless, when I give to them I designate 100% of my donation to the specific organizations I want to support, which in my area does include Catholic and other Christian groups. I also now make a separate donation to BSA through their “Friends of Scouting” program.

The nice thing about United Way comes from its original purpose–to allows you to support multiple charities with a single donation. But I agree that in most places their umbrella now includes many charities that Catholics have moral objections to–we need to be careful.

As far as giving your time, I think it depends on what you’re doing. I don’t see any problem with it as long as it’s not supporting groups that are working counter to Church teaching.

Y
Nonanon, there is nothing nice about organizations like United Way…all local agencies are associated with the national agency and therefore each other. As a result, when one local directly funds Planned Unparenthood’s murderous abortion holocaust, they all have the blood of untold many innocents. Please rethink your trying to exonerate any local from conspiring with UW national and other locals to commit mass murde.

 

[iloveangels]

At my work I can have 1 hour a month go to United Way for a year, and get 1 day off.

So I would get one extra vacation day this summer to support this Charity (pretty much paying 1/2 to get one extra vacation day). I figured I would do this, but I saw something (from a few years ago) about them supporting Planned Parenthood. Although I’m not really sure what that means… (Im not sure it matters, but I live in Kansas.)

So I’m not sure if United Way is a good cause to support or not. Does anyone know if they are something Catholics should support?

NO, I don’t support them at work. I do without the perks. Reason? They fund things like Planned Parenthood. And they were instrumental on persecuting the Boy Scouts a few years back because they wanted the Boy Scouts to be less picky about leaders for PC reasons.

 

[boldlygo]

NO, I don’t support them at work. I do without the perks. Reason? They fund things like Planned Parenthood. And they were instrumental on persecuting the Boy Scouts a few years back because they wanted the Boy Scouts to be less picky about leaders for PC reasons.

Many years ago, I discovered that my employer was withholding 0.5% of my paycheck for a corporate donation to United Way. No option. I found another job.

 

[RC_Patriot]

Boldlygo,

I commend you on your decision. I hope you considered finding a lawyer as well. What that company did was illegal. But, I can also appreciate not wnating to have to deal with the hassle and strees of taking them to court.

Sadly, many of us Roman Catholics and true Christians will be faced with the tough decision of either quitting our jobs or giving up one of the important benefits - health insurance. Despite the empty promise of the current “president” we will not be able to keep our current health care insurance…that’s because all of our policies are now required to provide coverage for contraceptives (including abortifacients). Yes, of course it is unconstitiutional - 4 US Supreme Court Justices said as much. But, while a great deal of focus has been placed on the illegality of forcing religious institutions to act in opposition to their fundamental beliefs by having to adhere to the unconstitutional Obamacare provisions, not as much has been placed on the fact that individual citizensare bieng forced to face a serious moral choice- either to pay insurance premiums that subsidize contraceptives for others under the same plans (or covered through the same insurance compnay under other plans), or be left out in the cold without any health care insurance.

 

[mafh]

The United Way bothers me as well, though not for all the same reasons. My workplace used to have this policy of 100% participation, where they would say that they expected 100% of the employees to participate, that they had had 100% participation for the past 10 years, etc. They would really strong-arm you into contributing. I resisted the first year, and was getting daily telephone calls from HR, etc. I finally caved in, but I have disliked the United Way ever since. I know a lot of other people who have gone throught the same thing at different employers.

Also, I did the payroll deduction once, and wrote United Way asking them to give me a receipt of my donation (for tax purposes), which they refused to do. Now, I just don’t give to them at all (fortunately my employer has dropped this 100% participation nonsense). I do pay attention to the various charities that they fund, and I do give to some of those charities seperately completely outside of the United Way.