KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video - Protests prompt Salvation Army policy change
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Associated Press - December 3, 2009 12:14 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Salvation Army says it will no longer ask for a parent's social security number before giving Christmas toys to children at some local branches.
Juan Alanis, a spokesman for the Salvation Army's Houston branch, says the charity changed its policy Wednesday following a protest by Hispanic immigrants in Los Angeles.
Alanis says the Christian organization never wanted to give the appearance of discrimination based on legal status and decided to not require a social security number to register for its Angel Tree program.
About two dozen parents and children protested outside a Los Angeles Salvation Army store with signs that read, "A gift from the heart, doesn't ask for documents."
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