Dear Pete, Steve and All,

Funny you should both be curious about Heritage for the Blind. I
have also heard their ads and became curious. So, I started doing
some probing into this organization, and here is what I have
found, so far:

The ads start with something like, "Vision is a precious gift,
but many in our community suffer..." and so on, and then the ad
ends with the sentence, "Heritage for the Blind is committed to
enhancing the lives of the blind and visually impaired."

The way to help them is by donating your old car to this non-profit,
writing it off on your taxes, and part of the proceeds
will go to help the blind. Of course, it's the helping the blind
that qualifies this organization as a non-profit.

Although I had never heard of this organization, their using the
phrase, "Blind and visually impaired" gave the impression that
they might be legit, or at least they did some minimal research
into the correct jargon. I called their 800 number and asked what
services they provide. The man quickly asked me if I had a car to
donate. "No," I said, "I want to know what types of services your
organization provides for the blind." "Hold on," the gut said.
Then another man came on the line and said, "Do you have a car to
donate?" I repeated the routine, and he took my number.

The next day, a nice young woman called me back and said that
this organization is located in Brooklyn, and was formerly called
Jewish Heritage for the Blind. When I asked what they do with the
proceeds, she said that they have plans to donate the money to
organizations that help the blind.

"But how are you helping the blind, today?" I asked her. "Hold
on," the nice young woman said, and a minute later she came back
and said that they produce braille books.

"Most blind and visually impaired people don't read braille," I
told her. "What are the titles of the braille books that you
produce?" "Hold on," she again said, and a minute later she came
back with the answer: "We produce braille Bibles."

"There already are plenty of Bibles in braille and on audio tape
for any blind people who are interested," I told her. "Is there
anything special about your braille Bibles?" After holding for
the last time, I got my answer: our braille Bibles are written in
Hebrew." "Ah ha!" I said, "So that's where the Jewish from your
original name went to."

So, Is this organization a scam. On the one hand, they give the
impression that they use the donor's gift for some kind of
general aid to relieve the trials and tribulations of blindness,
but they are probably just unloading some boxes of braille Hebrew
Bibles, stacked in the back of some old warehouse, and doomed for
the trash. But on the other hand, if you believe that braille
Hebrew Bibles "...enhance the lives of the blind and visually
impaired," then Heritage for the Blind is fulfilling its
commitment, as advertised.

If this is a scam as it appears, there are two basic ways that it
does harm to us and others:

* People who donate their cars to this organization are
defrauded. If they knew the truth, they might sell their car and
donate the money to another non-profit charity for the blind, and
still get their write-off. So Heritage for the blind diverts
possible legitimate donations for the blind to illegitimate ones.

* The repetition of these ads in prime-time slots in the most
expensive broadcast market in the world gives the many listeners
the impression that this organization is doing well, which it
surely must be. But the false implication is that blind people
are benefiting from this company's prosperity. And that
impression could lead those listeners to donate to other causes.

And this false impression has had a concrete effect for many of
us. Once, when I told my uncle about my perception that there is
a dearth of good services for the blind, he was surprised. I
asked him why he thought it was otherwise and he confessed to
having a vague impression that there are well-funded
organizations. Then I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from
saying, "You actually thought I wanted to spend the first decade
of my adulthood unable to read and write, while state-of-the-art
equipment and training was just waiting at my beckoned call?"

Before I conclude that this organization is a fraud, I am going
to do some more research. I'm going to get their tax-exempt ID
number, and obtain a basic breakdown of their expenses --
administration and advertising costs versus their charitable
giving. I will find out if they are meeting some kind of minimal
standard, and if they are being accurately published.

I would also follow up with calls to the radio stations that air
these ads and tell them that they are accomplices to the
defrauding of donors, legitimate blind charities, and the blind
in general.

I went to the website that Peter mikochik posted and found this
statement about what they provide: "Support Heritage for the
Blind. help fund the printing of large print and braille
publications to be distributed to the blind." I also emailed the
organization for their non-profit tax exempt ID number. Does the
fact that their website ends in dot com instead of dot org tell
us anything?

The woman who I spoke to didn't mention the large print, but this
statement isn't specific about what the publications are nor how,
when, where or to whom they will be distributed. So this doesn't
preclude the possibilities that they are, indeed, merely Hebrew
Bibles. And Steve's finding that they publish prayer books is
consistent with my findings.

It seems to me that this organization is violating some kind of
truth in advertising law, at least. If an organization's claims
of "...enhancing the lives of the blind and visually impaired,"
and that they "help "fund the printing of large print and braille
publications" are not both deceptive exaggerations for merely
printing Jewish prayer books written in Hebrew, then Al Gore did
invent the Internet.

Obviously, there are some gaps to be filled in, and some facts to
gather. Encouraged by the interest here, I intend to continue my
research for an expose article that I had in mind. If anybody on
this list wants to help, please write directly to me at
[log in to unmask] I will keep this list abreast of the progress of
my research and always be open to your input.

Peter Seymour

P.S. My cynical take on all this is that people no they are being
deceived, but don't want to be confronted with their self-deception. They
want to pretend that they care without being
confronted with the fact that they aren't helping and don't
really give a damn. Organizations like Heritage for the Blind
allow the donor and the organization to selfishly save and make
money, respectively, while playing the charade of charity.


Contact information:

Heritage for the Blind, 800-2donate
2882 Nostrand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11229
718/253-5015 or
[log in to unmask]
www.taxdeduction.com

I have often heard the ads on WCBS Radio, 212-736-5502.

We already know enough to tell this broadcaster that it is being a dupe for
a disability exploiter, regardless of the legal details.


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