Kids Exchange Response
Here’s the email from the Kids Exchange
Thank you for your email with concerns regarding our ‘spouse only’
entrance to the Kids Exchange during the Work Exchange sale. For a
while now, we have been considering a change in this policy to better
serve single parents and military families as well. We appreciate
you bringing your concerns to our attention. Starting with our July
2009 sale we are considering a new policy. We will be polling our
current work exchangers to see which of the following options they
prefer. We will implement the one with the highest votes.
A.) Work Exchanger ONLY with no guest, no spouse.
B.) The Work Exchanger will be allowed to bring one ‘helper’. The
helper must be shopping with the work exchanger for the same family
(honor system), and must checkout with the Work Exchanger. Only Work
Exchangers (wearing the entrance sticker) will be able to pay. The
helper will not be able to checkout separately. The Work Exchanger and
their helper will only have one order, not separate orders.
Our goal and focus have never been to discriminate in any way. We ask
that you circulate this change in policy in the same way the negative
information was prematurely sent regarding the Kids Exchange owners on
both a business and professional level. We personally are very upset
that our sellers and work exchangers would circulate such information
about us before we were given a chance to officially respond to their
concerns. We have both friends and family that are gay and in no way
sought to discriminate against anyone. The policy has been in place
for many years. We have always been very firm even regarding single
parents, widows and military families. Our firm stance on our
policies was not anti-gay nor was it created or implemented against the
gay community. Again, please circulate this change in policy which
will take effect at our next sale in July.
*Our policy of ‘spouse only’ has been an ongoing policy since the
inception of Kids Exchange. This policy is clearly stated on our Website
and also in emails sent to all Work Exchangers prior to the sale. This
entire situation could have been avoided if we had been contacted prior
to the sale date. We work with over 500 people in a very short time
and this simply was not an issue that should have been discussed or
brought up at the front door of the sale. Each Work Exchanger devotes
countless hours for their right to shop early at the Exchange. To allow
non-Work Exchangers admittance would be unfair to the Work Exchangers
and serve as a disincentive to these workers. We never meant to
embarrass anyone. We wish that the family involved would have
contacted us to clarify their questions beforehand and this may have
been resolved before the hectic environment of the sale. We cannot
change an ongoing policy, on the spot as the person requested us to do,
without thoughtful consideration and deliberation among ourselves and
our volunteers, who are the lifeline of the Kids Exchange.
Thank You ~ Kids Exchange
