Threat of Lawsuit Cancels Christmas for Some Children Print
Thursday, November 21 2013

Santa, of sorts, won't be making his usual Christmas deliveries to some South Carolina elementary school children, all thanks to an organization's threat to sue if the school continued its annual Christmas toy drive, Operation Christmas Child.

The American Humanist Association, allegedly dedicated to removing all religious references from government and encouraged by an upset parent, sent a letter to East Point Academy, a charter school in West Columbia, South Carolina, claiming the school's annual toy drive to be unconstitutional. More specifically, the organization stated: “This letter serves as notice to policymaking school officials of the East Point Academy’s unconstitutional conduct and as a demand that the school terminate all promotion, sponsorship, endorsement or affiliation with Operation Christmas Child immediately.”

According to the school's principal, Renee Mathews, the academy is small and has limited funds, so it had no choice but to cancel a project it hosted for two years without incident. 

The controversy centered on Operation Christmas Child’s association with the international Christian relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse. Principal Matthews noted, however, that the project was voluntary, non-religious, and not tied to any graded assignments.  Moreover, no religious materials were included in the boxes.

—Source:  bizpacreview.com