I am writing in regard to a recent article on the Boy Scouts of America, in which Mary DiMeglio stated that "Some organizations, including the United Way, have stopped donating money to the Boy Scouts since they stated their position during the trial." It would have been a correct statement if reporter Meghan Sedlak had added the word "some," as in "Some organizations, including some United Ways, have stopped donating money..."

There are 1,400 United Ways across the country. Each is completely autonomous and makes it own decisions about how much to raise in their campaigns, which agencies to fund and how much each agency gets. While there is a United Way of America, it in no way tells member United Ways what to do. It is a trade association to which we pay dues in return for training, information, conferencing and advocacy. The Centre County United Way, which funds two Boy Scout Councils, chose last summer, after much thought and consideration, to continue funding of our Boy Scouts.