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Board Members Resign From Oregon Shelter That Declined Gay Men's Chorus Donation

Three board members have resigned from a Josephine County youth shelter that became involved in a controversy over a charitable donation earlier this month.

The Hearts with a Mission youth shelter had turned down a much-needed $3,000 donation from the Portland Gay Men's Chorus.

At the time, Hearts with a Mission leaders said they were not trying to discriminate, but instead wanted to “avoid controversy.”

"Obviously that did not work," said board member Ann Hitchcock during a public apology Tuesday, according to the Grants Pass Daily Courier.

The organization bills itself as a “faith-based” group, and had originally said it was worried about backlash from conservatives living in Josephine County.

Instead, the group received heavy public scrutiny as the story of the donation spread to statewide media.

At the time of the donation, Hearts with a Mission was seeking an additional sum of money from the Grants Pass City Council to help fund its program. The Portland Gay Men's Chorus eventually donated the $3,000 to the nonprofit Maslow Project, which works with homeless youth.

Hearts with a Mission leaders did not identify the board members who resigned, nor did they tell the Daily Courier exactly why they resigned.

Groups that represent LGBTQ interests reportedly attended the public apology Tuesday.

"The decision that was made does not represent the work that we do at our shelter," Hitchcock said to the advocate groups.

Copyright 2017 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Ryan Haas has been with Oregon Public Broadcasting since 2013. His work has won numerous awards, including two National Magazine Award nominations for the podcast "Bundyville." Prior to working at OPB, Haas worked at newspapers in Illinois, Florida, Oregon and the Caribbean.