i do not have any specific dealing with this charity. but i was a fundraiser for decades. if you want to start a charity for homeless animals? how would you get the $? fundraisers. i'm sad to say that there are some bad people on the phone. i was a phone room manager for over 8 years. you try to get rid of the bad ones. but sometimes you miss out. even companies like AT&T have bad employees. IF the funraiser lies to you? report them. if they say they're a cop, firefighter, disabled vet, etc. the FTC will shut them down & fine the heck out of them. but fundraising as a whole. there's nothing wrong with it. like the other poster said. the police & firefighters can't legally raise the money themselves. so how else to do it? you think the united way doesn't pay their empolyees? they have BMWs & Mercedes in their parking lot. fireco has one of the reputable companies out there. i know.
These people have to be the most aggravating people I have ever come across. They call several times per month soliciting for money for some unknown project - it's difficult to tell if its a scam since they wont give any information about who to contact to confirm their authenticity. I have called several fire departments in the area and most of them do their own fundraisers and I still cant get anyone to tell me who these guys are and what they do. They call home phones and work phones repeatedly, even after being told firmly "NO" or "DO NOT CALL BACK".
UPDATE- TRI-CITIES Fire Departments all claim that they do not solicit by phone. STAY CLEAR
Ian Keys is the president of the Johnson City Fire Fighters Assoc.
Matt Sorge is the president of the Kingsport Fire Fighters Assoc.
Keith Bowen is the president of the Bristol VA Fire Fighters Assoc.
Call anyone you would like to see if they are really over the "projects" that these guys call to raise funds for!!!!!
I spoke with 2 members of the Johnson City Fire Dept. including Ian Keys (sp?) They confirmed that their organization does a fundraiser via phone, selling tickets or somthing on that level. Not for the department but for the firefighters association. He said that the Kingsport and Bristol fundraisers are done as well out of their offices. I found out that they are the ones with that fire safety house that my son went through at Cherokee Elem. For once a legit group, so my wife and I bought two of their tickets....but we gave them to friends - can't stand country music :P
This orginization is indeed a scam, in my opinion it is organized fraud! The supervisers name is Derek Roth and they are a subsidiary of a compnay called FireCo. They employ con artists and felons. They misrepresent themselves on the phone on a regular basis and will say whatever it takes to trick people out of there money. They hold two concerts a year at Freedom Hall. After FireCo pays all of its employees salaries, and the "Fire Fighters Association" salaries, all the costs of the concerts, i.e. artist Freedom Hall rental, ticket printing, etc etc. then FireCo splits whatever money is left 50/50 with the "Fire Fighters Association. They also will tell you they donate tickets to many orginizations that they indeed do not. When you call the main phone number they answer simply fire fighters so they dont represent one area since they say portray themselves from so many different areas. The employees for this call center also call several local restaurants for free food misrepresenting thereself as Fire Fighters. They also have a employee named David Poe that will call dinner theaters, restaurants, and even toy stores to trade concert tickets for items for there own personal use and gain. This is a filthy dirty orginization located behind Dairy Queen in Johnson City TN. Do not buy the concert tickets, do not buy the hype they are selling. Report them, try to record there call and turn them in to the BBB or your local fire station. So little of the money you donate actually goes to help anyone. If you want to help donate at you closest Fire Department in person. Don't give theese filthy crooks one cent of your hard earned money.