Here is my letter to the writer who authored this piece:
http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15921650&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=8
Dear Jamie,
I read with interest your article of 1/13/06, "Church members come from far and wide to repair hundreds of houses".
As someone with many years of association with Jehovah's Witnesses, I can attest that your article very accurately conveys the altruistic spirit that can be found among thousands of the organization's members. I do feel compell ed to point out however that your article only tells half of the story.
You observ ed that "Jehovah's Witnesses who can't drive to Southeast Texas donate money to help the cause... which is used to buy supplies and food. Also, several nonprofit groups, like the Red Cross, have donated frozen and canned foods ". I commend the Red Cross and the several other nonprofit groups who saw fit to draw from their cash reserves to supply food to those in need in Texas.. The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania Inc., which is the registered name of the corporation these voluntary workers belong to, has substantial cash reserves and billions of dollars in real estate assets worldwide. Unlike the Red Cross, the Watchtower Society (as it is known amongst its members) instead uses its members at their own expense to do this sometimes dangerous disaster relief and rebuilding work.
According to the survey: The Top 40 Companies Headquarter ed in New York City, published in the New York Newsday of 9/23/02, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society ranked # 31 with total revenues from the previous year of $951 million. To gain perspective, they are positioned between #29 - Barnes and Noble College Bookstores with $998 million, and #35 - J.Crew Group at $826 million. Now let's compare the revenues of these three New York based companies with that of Red Cross. For the year ending 2004, the Red Cross had total revenue of just over $3 billion. When you subtract the approx $2.2 billion in cash they received that year for supply of biomedical products and services, which leaves approx $862 million revenue from donated finances. Here is a link to their annual report. http://www.redcross.org/pubs/car04/CFS04.pdf
J.Crew and Barnes and Noble are very profitable companies with a huge payroll of tens of thousands of employees. Red Cross is known worlwide for their disaster relief work.
The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania Inc. owns printing factories worldwide on every continent where hundr eds of unpaid laborers toil to supply the company with the steady flow of magazines, tracts, and brochures they rely upon in order to solicit the millions of dollars in donation revenue they receive each year. Ask yourself, with a steady annual revenue equaling or surpassing that of some of America's most profitable companies, but with $0 dollars spent on labor, where is all the money?
I'm sure you notic ed that most of the individual Jehovah's Witness volunteers who donated time and resources to this disaster relief are themselves of modest means. I have great respect for these individuals, both for their trust in each other, and for the great compassion that they show. Sadly, they are unwittingly being taken advantage of by an organization that is very eager to present a family friendly charitable face to the world.
Sincerely, BW
