Stop supporting Boy Scouts of America
Stop supporting Boy Scouts of America
The Issue
The stated vision of United Way is of "a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives." Its mission is to "improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good."
In a statement on its website, United Way offers this: "United Way Worldwide strives to be a model of diversity and inclusion, and our Board of Trustees, staff, and volunteers reflect the many faces, cultures and walks of life, that proudly make up our nation.
"We respect, value, and celebrate the unique attributes, characteristics and perspectives that make each person who they are. We also believe that bringing diverse individuals together allows us to collectively and more effectively address the issues that face our communities. It is our aim, therefore, that our partners, strategies, and investments reflect these core values."
Yet the United Way continues to support the Boy Scouts of America in spite of the fact that BSA recently reaffirmed its long standing policy of excluding gay scouts and gay leaders.
On its own website, the United Way poses the question: "Does United Way invest in the Boy Scouts?" and answers it thusly: "Yes. We currently invest in the Boy Scouts of America, Northern Star Council, which operates highly effective youth programs for kids in our area. Their atmosphere of nondiscrimination is consistent with United Way's strong commitment to valuing diversity."
That's doublespeak. An organization (United Way) that believes in diversity and inclusion does not support an organization that practices exclusion. Either you support inclusion or you do not and currently the United Way, through its support of the Boy Scouts of America, supports exclusion.
While acknowledging that United Way does support many valuable and worthy projects and organizations, it's support of an organization that consistently supports discrimination and exclusion of gay scouts and gay leaders is unacceptable in 21st Century America.
The Issue
The stated vision of United Way is of "a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives." Its mission is to "improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good."
In a statement on its website, United Way offers this: "United Way Worldwide strives to be a model of diversity and inclusion, and our Board of Trustees, staff, and volunteers reflect the many faces, cultures and walks of life, that proudly make up our nation.
"We respect, value, and celebrate the unique attributes, characteristics and perspectives that make each person who they are. We also believe that bringing diverse individuals together allows us to collectively and more effectively address the issues that face our communities. It is our aim, therefore, that our partners, strategies, and investments reflect these core values."
Yet the United Way continues to support the Boy Scouts of America in spite of the fact that BSA recently reaffirmed its long standing policy of excluding gay scouts and gay leaders.
On its own website, the United Way poses the question: "Does United Way invest in the Boy Scouts?" and answers it thusly: "Yes. We currently invest in the Boy Scouts of America, Northern Star Council, which operates highly effective youth programs for kids in our area. Their atmosphere of nondiscrimination is consistent with United Way's strong commitment to valuing diversity."
That's doublespeak. An organization (United Way) that believes in diversity and inclusion does not support an organization that practices exclusion. Either you support inclusion or you do not and currently the United Way, through its support of the Boy Scouts of America, supports exclusion.
While acknowledging that United Way does support many valuable and worthy projects and organizations, it's support of an organization that consistently supports discrimination and exclusion of gay scouts and gay leaders is unacceptable in 21st Century America.
Petition Closed
Share this petition
The Decision Makers
Petition created on July 23, 2012