Chipotle: Feud With Integrity

Without fundraising many of our children would not be able to participate in the sport that they love. There’s monthly tuition, practice wear, uniforms, bows, shoes, makeup, competition fees, and travel expenses. Plus “extras” such as food at competitions—hello Dippin’ Dots!—and souvenirs (like they need another bow or t-shirt). It’s enough to make you think about getting a second job (or three).

Fundraising allows some of this burden to be lifted.

There are plenty of awesome companies through which you can fundraise—such as Double Good (shameless plug, I’m sorry). But not every experience is all sweetness and light. On July 16th, the Greenbelt Boys and Girls Club Cheerleading Team had a fundraiser scheduled at their local Chipotle; customers who used their coupon to purchase food would have half of the proceeds given to the cheerleading organization. However, early into the event, their fundraiser was canceled and the team was asked to leave.  In a July 18th Facebook post, Commissioner and Head Coach Tatjana Dale alleges Chipotle canceled their fundraiser because:

“They said we couldn’t know all of the people who came in with flyers because they were not all Black. They asked a White customer and Hispanic customers if they truly supported us and questioned how they knew us. They claim they asked because these customers ‘didn’t look like they knew us.'”

She goes on to state that the police were even called in attempts to have the cheerleading team and their supporters removed from Chipotle’s property.

In a statement sent to WUSA9, Chipotle states:

“While we will not get into the details of the escalation, our employee did call the police out of an abundance of caution to ensure the security of employees and guests and we stand by our employees who followed protocol to ensure a safe and positive guest experience for all involved. The incident was absolutely not racially motivated and the fundraiser was eventually cancelled after a refusal to follow our fundraiser policy on site.”

How do you like them apples? Sounds like there may have been a rotten one or two in the bunch...