Hearts With A Mission is a faith-based and non-profit organization that provides shelters to all eligible youth in Jackson and Josephine Counties regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability. On March 25, the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus in Oregon held a charity concert at Newman United Methodist Church and they wanted to donate $3,000 to Hearts With A Mission but they have turned down the money.
Someone might ask why they have rejected a generous donation when they needed money. The shelter, which normally gets $50,000 a year from the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety, had a budget shortfall, so they were already requesting $26,000 from the local government. That is a strange part of the story. Officials from the faith-based group that runs the shelter said the decision to turn down the money was made with thoughts to the welfare of the at-risk youths the shelter serves, not to discriminate against the gay men’s group.
Hearts With A Mission Executive Director Kevin Lamson said: “By branding something with our logo, what we are essentially doing is endorsing it. It’s a shame that that factors into how somebody else perceives our organization.” It means that they rejected the donation because they were worried it’d make them look bad to their other Christian donors because the donation was from gay people.
They didn’t make the right choice by turning down the money. On the contrary, the city council is now rethinking the $26,000 aid request: “The idea that they would turn down any sort of philanthropic donation if they need more funding is not right,” City Councilor Tyler Flaming told the Daily Courier.
“We realize the decision to refer the funds to another non-profit was a mistake,” Hearts With A Mission said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “We sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for the offense we caused. This decision did not reflect our commitment to foster relationships within our whole community.”
The Mail Tribune writes:
If Hearts With A Mission wants to continue operating shelters for homeless youths using taxpayers’ money, it needs to stand up for the principle of helping those who need help without judging them, and that extends to having the courage to accept help graciously offered, regardless of what some in the community might think. This unfortunate decision is likely to damage its ability to raise funds from the public far more than simply accepting the donation would have.
The point is that if someone offers to help, accept it without judgment or discrimination because it is something that comes from the heart and the others would be encouraged to follow suit.
Photo Credits: The Oregonian
