Please encourage companies who no longer give to the abortion
industry by passing the word around, and patronizing them! Thank you!
Part 1: Announcement from Pampered Chef
Mary's Remnant received over a half dozen copies of the email below before 6 PM on July 3, 2003. Christine Peters, the Director of Pampered Chef didn't waste any time getting this out to us!
As per the information below, Mary's Remnant Ministry will remove The Pampered Chef and Berkshire Hathaway from our Boycotts for Life list. The list will be updated before Monday, July 7, 2003.
Please encourage the companies which have stopped giving donations to the abortion industry by patronizing them! Let all of your friends know! The following companies are now "Pro-Life SAFE!" - Pampered Chef, Berkshire Hathaway, Dairy Queen, and Fruit of the Loom.
I will try to post a full list of companies affected by this decision no later than Monday.
This letter was issued to all Pampered Chef consultants on Thursday, July 3 at 5:15 pm central time.
Thank you.
Christine Peters
Dear Kitchen Consultants:
I have shared with you my pride in being a part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses. I knew that this was the kind of family where The Pampered Chef would thrive and grow for years to come. I have also shared with you my feelings of respect for Warren Buffett.
Today, I am even more proud to call Warren my mentor, leader and friend.
This week I went to Warren with a heavy heart. I told him that many of our Kitchen Consultants were concerned and troubled with Berkshire Hathaway's donation policies - specifically the contributions to pro-choice organizations and to the Buffett Foundation. I knew that I could speak with Warren frankly and that he would want to hear of the issues impacting your business.
It troubled him deeply that charitable donations from Berkshire Hathaway were causing you difficulty. He listened to me carefully and with great compassion. He understands that as his family of Berkshire companies expands, it becomes more diverse, and there are opinions and concerns that need to be taken into consideration. Warren Buffett made a landmark decision regarding the long-standing corporate giving policies of Berkshire Hathaway. His decision was this:
Effective immediately, Berkshire Hathaway will cease all corporate contributions of any kind to any non-profit organization. This means there will be no donations from Berkshire Hathaway to the Buffett Foundation. Let me be clear, there will be no possibility of any Pampered Chef profits being donated to any cause other than those we initiate, including our three current charitable giving programs: Round-Up from the Heart, Help Whip Cancer and the Family Resiliency Program.
Warren Buffett made his landmark decision after hearing what was in my heart and in yours. I believe that Kitchen Consultants, hosts and customers are a diverse group of individuals with different opinions and beliefs. Our business is built on trust and on personal relationships. Warren understands our business and wants you to be successful in every way, able to do business with people of all backgrounds and beliefs.
I admire Warren Buffett for his heart and his insight. He is a wise leader!
Thank you for all you do to make this company strong.
Doris K. Christopher Part 2: Affected Companies
Some of these individual companies may be making donations to the abortion industry independent of Berkshire Hatthaway, however none of these will be a part of Bershire Hatthaway's donations program, since it no longer has one.
Here is some current information regarding The Pampered Chef which is currently on your boycott list and our parent company of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffet. Please read and review and makes changes to your boycott list.
Director for the Pamepered Chef and PRO-LIFE!
Founder and Chairman
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Acme Brick Company Ben Bridge Jeweler Benjamin Moore & Co. Berkshire Hathaway Group Berkshire Hathaway Homestates Companies Borsheim's Fine Jewelry Buffalo NEWS, Buffalo NY Central States Indemnity Company CORT Business Services CTB Inc. Fechheimer Brothers Company FlightSafety Fruit of the Loom® Garan Incorporated GEICO Direct Auto Insurance General Re Helzberg Diamonds H.H. Brown Shoe Group International Dairy Queen, Inc. |
Johns Manville Jordan's Furniture Justin Brands Larson-Juhl McLane Company MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company MiTek Inc. National Indemnity Company Nebraska Furniture Mart NetJets® The Pampered Chef® Precision Steel Warehouse, Inc. RC Willey Home Furnishings Scott Fetzer Companies See's Candies Shaw Industries Star Furniture United States Liability Insurance Group XTRA Corporation |
Part 3: Berkshire Hatthaway News Release
Omaha, NE (BRK.A; BRK.B) — Berkshire Hathaway has terminated its shareholder-designated contributions program, which has distributed approximately $197 million since it was begun in 1981. This program has allowed holders of Berkshire’s A shares to designate a per-share sum for the company to contribute to as many as three charities, the only requirement being that the designee have 501(c)(3) status. The program thus allowed a wide diversity of donations, some of them controversial but all outside the control of Berkshire.
In recent years, about 3,500 charities have been designated annually, with schools the favorite (about 800 different institutions have benefited), followed by more than 400 churches and synagogues. Some institutions were named by many shareholders. Last year, for example, ten shareholders directed funds to Creighton University and 20 named the University of Nebraska.
The program worked well for many years. Recently, however, certain of the donations, including some made by Berkshire’s chairman, Warren Buffett, have caused harmful criticism to be directed at Berkshire’s new subsidiary, The Pampered Chef. The independent consultants that serve The Pampered Chef have no responsibility for what Berkshire Hathaway shareholders do, yet the careers of many of these consultants are now suffering because of the contributions program.
Thus, contrary to all that Berkshire has experienced in the past, its ownership is now harming a new subsidiary, even though this company anticipated that association with Berkshire would help rather than hurt its employees and sales field. Moreover, Berkshire greatly admires Doris Christopher, the founder and CEO of The Pampered Chef, and the independent consultants who serve it so well. These circumstances caused Berkshire directors to decide to eliminate the contributions program. Berkshire recognizes that many of its shareholders will regret the loss of this program, but feels that the action it is taking is in the best interest of the company. All Berkshire subsidiaries, under direction of their local managers, will continue to support local charities in a manner consistent with what they have been doing. The Pampered Chef has traditionally focused on Round-Up from the Heart, Help Whip Cancer and the Family Resiliency Program, and it will continue this focus.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in a number of diverse business activities among which the most important is the property and casualty insurance business conducted on both a direct and reinsurance basis.
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