Charities and Funds

I was saddened to read the letter from Marta Pena of Whittier (Dec. 21), criticizing many charities for spending money on staff dinners and entertainment, then “cooking the books” to make it appear otherwise.

Let me assure Ms. Pena (that) there are hundreds of very reputable charities worthy of her contribution. As executive director of AIDS Walk Orange County, I am proud to report that we, for one, work very hard to keep our expenses down, as do all of the nonprofit organizations to which we distribute our funds. For example, we employ two staff and are blessed by a very large cadre of volunteers.

Our board of directors includes 27 hard-working, dedicated volunteers who donate time and money to produce a walkathon that funds HIV/AIDS services, education and research organizations in Orange County. In fact, board members buy their own dinners when we hold our monthly board meetings in our office.

Please don’t judge all nonprofits by a few bad apples. I look forward to the day when Orange County requires a certification process for charities. Then, happily, unscrupulous agencies will be out of business.

JOANN P. RUDEN

AIDS Walk Orange County

Irvine