[Nfbmo] Heritage For the Blind

Fri Sep 9 23:27:30 UTC 2011

This gets more and more interesting.  I looked up the words "Heritage  for 
the Blind" and "Fraud" on Google and came up with stories detailing fraud  
cases in NY and NYC regarding a number of charities, including Heritage for 
the  Blind that advertise heavily and distribute only 10% of the money 
brought in to  actual services for the blind - though the article does not mention 
where the  money went to.  This from a recent copy of Newsday:
_http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/cars/state-eyes-possible-fraud-in-car-do
nation-charities-1.2023948_ 
(http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/cars/state-eyes-possible-fraud-in-car-donation-charities-1.2023948) 

    The next article detailed how Heritage for the Blind  claimed they were 
printing religious books in Braille and large print but the  religious 
articles are exclusive to one particular sect - in other words, the  chairty 
subsidizes production of accessible religious books exclusively for the  
members of that sect and no one else.  If you want to contribute to that  
denomination, that's fine but it is not spelled out on the website or the  mailers.  
_http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/01/religious-chari.
html_ 
(http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/01/religious-chari.html) 

       These are evidently continuing  investigations.

   Then I checked YouTube and found a *LOT* of entries for  Heritage for 
the Blind.  They are 1 minute snippets regarding eye disease  and care issues. 
 The clips say that they are gathered from on-line sources  and available 
via the website.   Which means that they grab a clip,  add the Heritage logo, 
fade in with a cheesy public domain jingle, fade out to  the clip and then 
fade the music in again.  Some of the clips ask you to  donate your car.
    I keep finding references to the Haredi sect, which uses  HFTB as well 
as other car donation charities to fund it's activities.  In  other words, 
aside from the freely available internet eye information clips that  they 
repurpose, the real purpose of the money is to support various activities  of 
this Messianic church. 
   Even then, only 15 cents/dolar goes to services - the vast  majority 
goes to advertising and the next highest categories is for salary and  
management.

     Finally, I checked w/ NFBtalk.net and found that  there were entries 
saying essentiatlly the same thing - that this is a  scam.  Bryan Schultz was 
a part of the thread and said as much in  2010.

     So, I'm tellling everyone to avoid this group,  perhaps I'll see what 
the Missouri AG has to say about it.
They are registered all over the state in large and small towns, usually in 
 association with auto wrecking and salvage companies.
Dan

In a message dated 9/9/2011 4:04:09 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
DanFlasar at aol.com writes:

Gene,
I went to the website and didn't find  much there  either.  There is a 
'free service lookup', they  distribute large print  religious materials 
and 
there is supposed to  be a staff to help you get through  blindness but the 
webpage is very  unstable, it gives no history of the  organization, lists 
no 
board of  directors - mentioning only that it is registred  as a non-profit 

organization benefitting the blind.   The whole  'service'  seems to be the 
website and from the look and feel of it - they  don't  spend much money on 
it. 
Could this be fraudulent?
And if it  is, what can be done. There are a lot of places a car can be  
donated  that could do more good than this limited website.
BTW, they  also note that their advertising helps to make  people aware 
of the  plight of the blind.
Dan

In a message dated 9/9/2011 2:56:48  P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
escoulter at centurytel.net  writes:

Dan,
We have been hearing ads for this group for  last  several months on local 
radio as well as XM. I  checked  out their web  site and there, in my 
opinion, 
is not much  substantial they do for blind  persons. It appears to me that 
their  primary function is to turn old cars  into cash. When Debbie Wunder  
called the operator could not tell her much  about what they did.  There is 
another ‘organizition called Cars for Cancer  which is  similar.
One claim on the site when I looked at it was that    they provide 
literature 
to  help blind people cope with  their  tragedy.
The web site is  HeritageForTheBlind.com or   www.freetowing.com
HTH
Gene
From: DanFlasar at aol.com
Sent:  Friday,  September 09, 2011 2:29 PM
To: nfbmo at nfbnet.org
Subject:  [Nfbmo]  Heritage For the Blind

Hi ebverybody,
Does anhone  know  anyhthing about a group called the  Heritage for  the
Blind?  They  are sending out flyers in the St. Louis  area  looking for  
car
donations.   I've never heard  of   them.
Dan
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