“ I“I o u n d iit A L L iin one place!”! ” f found t ALL n o n e p l a c e Life, ,Made E a s i e r L i f e M a d e Easier Tis the Season to be Generous (and Careful) he holiday season is approaching, and with it will come mailings, calls, and other solicitations from charities that are seeking your donations. Many are worthwhile, others less so. Some are outright scams. How can you tell the difference? A convincing name and persuasive pitch is no guarantee that the charity is trustworthy. The U.S. Navy Veterans Association, created by Aging John Donald Cody (aka Bobby Thompson), bilked donors nationwide Aging Resources out of an estimated $100 million, including nearly $2 million in Ohio. Resources This “charity” operated for almost 8 years until law enforcement finally Help for Help for caught up with it. Cody was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 28 Me & Mom years in prison. The millions in donations, unfortunately, are long Hubby & gone and never reached their supposed veteran beneficiaries. Dad When Dallas nurse Amber Joy Vinson contracted Ebola, her family was surprised to find a Go Fund Me site was raising donations in her name. The fundraising page, gofundme.com/AmberJoyVinsonFund, One Campus. Many Solutions. One Person at a a Time. had raised more than $600 in one day. The site was taken down after One Campus. Many Solutions. One Person at Time. the BBB issued an alert and the family confirmed they were not affili4 MarcusPost Hospital Rehabilitation Marcus Post Hospital Rehabilitation ated with the site. 4 HomeHealth Services Home Health Services Skilled Nursing and Personal Care 4 Marcus Post HospitalPersonal Care Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing and When making your holiday giving decisions, BBB advises: Outpatient Occupational & Speech Therapies 4 Outpatient Occupational & Speech Therapies 4 Peter B. Lewis Aquatic & Therapy Center Home Health Services 4 Peter B. Lewis Aquatic &Physical Therapy Aquatic & Land-based Therapy Center • Look for BBB Accredited Charities. These charities have undergone a Aquatic Living Shoppe Skilled Nursing and Personal Care Adaptive and Land-Based Physical Therapy thorough review to meet BBB’s 20 Standards for Charity Accountability, 4 Adaptive Living Shoppe Daily Living Products Emergency Response & which include ethical fundraising, governance and use of donations. 4 Door to Door ResponseNon-emergency Transportation Outpatient Occupational &Daily Living Products Emergency Reliable and Speech Therapies Center 4 Adult B. Lewis Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Door-to-Door, Aquatic & Therapy Center 4 Peter DayPersonal Care and Enrichment • Check out local charities at bbb.org/cleveland. BBB charity reports Daytime 4 Adult Day Care contain information on an organization’s programs, finances, goverHousekeeping Land-Based Physical Therapy Plus Aquatic and Daytime Personal Care and Enrichment nance, and more. Light Housekeeping & Heavy Cleaning 4 Housekeeping Plus 4 Dialysis Living Shoppe Adaptive Light Housekeeping and Heavy Cleaning Service • Get the charity’s exact name. With so many charities in existence, misMenorah Park Aging Resources Emergency Your Fingertips Information at Response and Daily Living Products 4 Dialysis taken identity is a common problem. Thousands of charities have “can4Residential Park Aging Resources Menorah Options: cer” in their name, for example, but no connection with one another. 4 Door-to-Door, Non-Emergency Medical Transportation The Information at Your Fintertips R.H. Myers Apartments • Resist pressure to give on the spot, whether from a telemarketer or 4 Adult Day Care Stone Gardens Assisted Living Residence Residential Options: door-to-door solicitor. Wiggins Place Apartments The R.H. MyersAssisted Living Residence Daytime Personal Care and Enrichment Menorah Park Skilled Living Residence Stone Gardens AssistedNursingResidence • Be wary of heart-wrenching appeals. What matters is what the charity Wiggins Place Assisted Living 4 Housekeepingm e n o r Residence r k . o r g w w w Plus Menorah Park .Skilled Nursinga h p a Home is doing to help. 27100 Cedar Road * Beachwood,OH 44122 Helen’s Light Housekeeping and Heavy Cleaning Service Place Memory Care Apartments Call Beth Silver at (216)839-6678 • Press for specifics. If the charity says it’s helping the homeless, for 4 Dialysis w w. m e n o r a h p a r k . o r g w example, ask how and where it’s working. 27100 Cedar Road • Beachwood, OH 44122 4 Menorah Park Beth Silver at (216) 839-6678 Aging Resources Call • Check websites for basics. A charity’s mission, program and finances T Menorah Park Center for Senior Living Menorah Park Center for Senior Living Menorah Center for Senior Living One Campus. Many Solutions. One Person at a Time. Information at Your Fintertips Aging Resources Residential Options: The R.H. Myers Apartments Stone Gardens Assisted Living Residence Wiggins Place Assisted Living Residence Menorah Park Skilled Nursing Home Helen’s Place Memory Care Apartments w w w. m e n o r a h p a r k . o r g 27100 Cedar Road • Beachwood, OH 44122 Call Beth Silver at (216) 839-6678 50 Beachwood Buzz n December 2014 rces Aging Resou should be available on its site. If not, check for a report at www.give.org, BBB’s repository of reports on nationally operating charities. Any organization located in or soliciting donations in Ohio must be registered with the Ohio Attorney General. You can check at http:// charitableregistration. ohioattorneygeneral. gov/Charities/Research-Charities.aspx. Don’t assume that every soliciting organization is tax exempt as a charity. You can readily check an organization’s tax status at www.irs. gov/app/eos.