Collecting donations in Military wear is misleading, vets say

Military wear is misleading, vets say
Aug 11, 2012
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY

Beyond wondering where the donation money goes, by far the biggest complaint lodged against out-of-town organizations’ collecting cash for veterans at local stores is the solicitors’ appearance.

In complaints to FLORIDA TODAY and multiple state agencies, veterans and their advocates say solicitors are dressed to resemble military men and women, when some have never served.

Carolyn Mosely, of Melbourne, filed a formal complaint with the state agency that oversees charities’ fundraising, about the encounter she and her husband had with a collector for Veterans Support Organization outside a local Winn-Dixie. In her letter, Mosely said the young man admitted he was not a veteran, although his dress hinted otherwise.

“He was just dressed like a soldier, and was collecting funds for the organization,” she wrote, adding that she felt it’s “totally misleading, dishonest, and possibly illegal to masquerade as a military person in order to scam the public into donating.”

She went to add, “My husband served 30 years in the USAF, had combat tours in three wars, and I resent anyone impersonating a military man.”
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My husband is with the DAV and I am with the Auxiliary. We go to stores arranged way a head of time for Forget Me Not drives twice a year. It happens all the time. People will come up to the table and tell us they love the DAV and just donated. When we ask them where they were, they said on "such and such street" and gave the money to a man in uniform. When we tell them the DAV does not collect money on the street and we do not put on costumes, they are horrified. They don't like being duped. What they like even less is the fact their money did not go to where they knew it would be put to good use.

The other group keeps changing their name but usually has a sign saying Disabled Veterans Foundation or something like that. People see the words Disabled Veteran and then just assume they are with the DAV.

I strongly suggest that if you are seeing anyone collecting money for veterans on the street or at a store, check to see who they are really with. If you don't know anything about them, get information from them and then look them up to see if they are worthy of your money and trust. If they won't provide you with the information, then go into the store and complain to the manager. Let them know what is going on. Most of the time the store managers just trust them because they have a tax exempt assuming they are on the level.

The above group is yet another problem if they are dressing up like veterans instead of actually being veterans.