Apparently the soup kitchen snafu which embarrassed Paul Ryan recently is causing severe problems for the St. Vincent de Paul Society which runs the charity.
Antal's charity represents the kind of organization that conservative Republicans might champion. But that was before the Ryan incident went viral a few days ago. According to The Washington Post, Antal said that the moment should never have happened. He told the newspaper that the photo-op was not authorized and that the campaign had “ramrodded their way” inside.
Ryan supporters have now targeted Antal and his soup kitchen, Antal said, including making hundreds of angry phone calls. Some members of Antal's volunteer staff have had to endure the barrage as well, he said. "The sad part is a lot of [the callers] want to hide behind anonymity," he said, adding that if someone leaves their name and number he has tried to return their call. In addition to phone calls, people have posted a few choice words on the charity's Facebook wall, including statements like "I hope you lose your tax [sic] emempt status," Anyone who is thinking about donations to you should think twice" and "Shame on you Brian Antal!"
I'm sure that progressive boycotts of conservative charities like the Komen Foundation has pissed off conservatives. But this REALLY pisses me off. All the site director said was that the visit wasn't cleared with them and they are supposed to stay non-political because of their funding. Maybe we can make up some of the shortfall.
You can help by sending donations to Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, money can be sent to P.O. Box 224, Youngstown, Ohio 44501. They don't have their own website, but the website for the national organization is http://www.svdpusa.org/ and gifts could be designated for the 208 W. Front St., Youngstown, Ohio site. There is a Facebook page, but not much going on there. All the posts are inquiring about how to donate in response to this news.
UPDATE: First time on the rec list. Thanks!
UPDATE Stevemb made it clear in his comment I hadn't specifically referenced the donor backlash. Sorry, here's the quote:
Ryan may have suffered a few late-night jokes, but the fallout for the soup kitchen appears to be far more bruising. Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, confirmed that donors have begun an exodus in protest over Ryan's embarrassment. The monetary losses have been big. "It appears to be a substantial amount," Antal said. "You can rest assured there has been a substantial backlash."
UPDATE: ReKarma notes that indiegogo has set up a page to help the soup kitchen - here's the link.
Update:There is now a PayPal address for direct contributions to the center. Thanks to the person who posted this on my Facebook wall.
Now not only can you send contributions to Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, P.O. Box 224, Youngstown, Ohio 44501, but as soon as someone PAYPALs a dollar, Brian Antal's St Vincent De Paul email ==> bantal@svdpusa.org will be an accredited Paypal address. Your $1 could be the first! THANKS! heart please SHARE tell people about bantal@svdpusa.org
