The Rainbow Girls’ Gilroy Assembly’s annual holiday fundraiser
of wrapping gifts in front of Wal-Mart came to a halt this year
after a store manager said they could not be there, even after
another employee had given them permission to do so.
The Rainbow Girls’ Gilroy Assembly’s annual holiday fundraiser of wrapping gifts in front of Wal-Mart came to a halt this year after a store manager said they could not be there, even after another employee had given them permission to do so.
Wal-Mart staffers were apologetic on Monday, saying the girls could come to the store any day this week. However, it appears to be too late, said Patricia Gewin, mother adviser of the Gilroy Assembly of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.
“A lot of them are going out of town to visit,” Gewin said.
The local mother adviser said she had contacted Wal-Mart before Thanksgiving about the possibility of wrapping gifts in front of the store this year. The Rainbow Girls, a group of girls ages 11 to 20 that conducts service projects and engages in fun activities, earns about $200 to $250 each year through the fundraiser, Gewin said. That money goes toward operational expenses.
This was the first year that Gewin recalled having to fill out paperwork to wrap paper in front of the store. The Rainbow Girls waited to receive a response back from the store to learn whether they had received approval, but never heard any response, she said. As a result, she talked to the woman on Saturday who gave her the application, and Gewin said the woman indicated it probably would be fine for them to gift wrap presents in front of the store.
However, the manager came outside after they already had their tables set up and told them they did not have permission to be there, Gewin said. She said the manager mentioned at the time that there had been lawsuits against petitioners who had collected signatures in front of the store.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Cheeseman said Monday that the Gilroy store had been awaiting corporate approval for the Rainbow Girls’ application. It appeared there was some miscommunication, she said.
Gewin said she received two apologetic phone calls from Wal-Mart after the Dispatch contacted the store’s corporate offices on Monday, and a staff member said the group was welcome to wrap gifts in front of the store through Christmas.
The store is happy to accommodate the Rainbow Girls between now and Christmas, Cheeseman said.
