Last month, the local Salvation Army received a check for $25,000, and everything looked good so far. Captain Anthony Guliana said the check came with a note on the letterhead of a large company here in town, saying the company (Force Protection, which makes military vehicles) had a good year and wished to share its good fortune. The check was taken to the bank, deposited, and the Sally went to work feeding families and dispensing toys for Christmas.
Then a couple of days before Christmas came the bad news. The check was bogus, drawn on a closed account. The letter was a forgery, and the Salvation Army was stuck with a large bill.
This made national news, with the Chalotte Observer and L.A. Times picking up on it.
Meanwhile, Force Protection -- where times have really been lean the past 18 months, with cutbacks and layoffs -- says the incident is little more than a smear campaign against the company.
It appears several other of these rubbery checks were sent to other charitable organizations, including $10,000 to a local church. I tell you, there's a special section reserved in Hell for folks like that.
Now, it would be a real PR coup for Force Protection to honor these checks, but it's not their responsibility. Understand, this whole incident was little more than a case of stolen identity, and I wouldn't expect them to step up to the plate any more than I would expect anyone else to cover for checks written if his own identity is stolen. And, as I mentioned, business for Force Protection really laid an egg during this recession. So that scenario is probably out.
The story ran on The Morning Buzz, a local talk radio show hosted by Richard Todd, and here's where things start looking better.
One caller, who is a member of the motorcyclists' organization ABATE, offered to make a donation and challenged other local bikers to do the same.
A firefighter in North Charleston said he was going to donate, and asked all other firefighters to pass the hat. Ditto with a local minister, a professional driver, the owner of a carpet cleaning company, and an Avon representative. All of these people likewise challenged all others in their occupational groups to open their wallets.
And that's just the folks who went public on one radio show, in just a couple of hours of airtime. You know people around the Loucountry are a) digging deep and b) taking a few verbal shots at the anonymous person who sent out these bogus checks. Recession or not, people are pitching in.
See, despite our own every-man-for-himself natures, people can be okay after all.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment