A Question About KMart

I adore KMart–the Jaclyn Smith collection is particularly impressive, and she’s branched out to sheets and furniture!–but something weird happens when you check out there.

The cashier, clearly under strict instructions, bugs each paying customer by asking, “Would you like to donate a dollar to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital?”

Well, I’ve never seen anyone fork over the cash–including myself–and that’s partly because it seems like such a strange proposition to try and turn a rare purchasing transaction into a blessed act of charity.

Now, I’m not implying that the KMart organization (home of such do-gooders as Martha Stewart and Joe Boxer) doesn’t care about sick children.

But again, why the fuck do they hit you up for a donation?

Is it some kind of tax writeoff thing?