Charities don't want your junk, either

PrayersForMaura · Dec 21, 2005

Charities don't want your junk, either
Tattered clothes, broken toasters won't be of use to anyone
The last thing a homeless person needs is a urine-stained mattress.

Or stuffed animals without limbs, half-used shampoo bottles, broken dishes, legless chairs, cordless lamps, ripped clothing or shabby couches.
While such "tacky" giving is the exception rather than the rule, it is prevalent at this time of year. People receiving new presents donate older items, some seek end-of-the-year tax deductions, and others seasonally give to those less fortunate.

But there is a way to donate without dumping, an etiquette of giving that raises hopes and leaves charities with fewer liabilities, charity officials and volunteers say.

"A lot of people mean well. They think giving something is better than nothing, but that's not necessarily true," said Michal Nortness, director of The Sharehouse in South Seattle, a non-profit program of the Church Council of Greater Seattle that collects used household donations for those transitioning from homelessness.

<snip>

"There's a misconception about the poor, that if something's free, they should just take it and be thankful," Klavins said. "But at one point, most of the people we see had fuller lives and their own things; they weren't always homeless."

More: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/252720_etiquette20.html?source=mypi

Yakwoman · Dec 21, 2005

So true. I do marketing for a non-profit organization that serves people with developmental disabilities. We have a thrift store that funds our programs. You would not believe some of the crap people donate. The volunteers who sort the donations have come across underwear with stains in the crotch, dirty pots and pans (crusty food!), broken toys, etc. Someone once boxed up a dead dog and left if as a doantion. How sick is that?

Some even bring bags of garbage - REALLY! You see, the community we live in charges for trash disposal "by the bag" and if they drop it off as a donation, then the CHARITY must pay to dispose of it. This last summer, we got a bag filled with stuffed animals and poopy diapers. How disgusting can you get?

Then, on the other hand, we have some really fantastic donors! We just got a HUGE donation from the estate of an elderly woman who loved to shop all over the world. Twenty big boxes of brand new clothing, shoes, jewelry, etc. - all still with the original tags! That really made our Christmas season!

Yakwoman

jannuncutt · Dec 21, 2005

I used to work in a bank. One year we adopted a family of 8 from social services. We were each responsible for items for one family member. The packages had to be wrapped with name tags. One of the top v.p.'s in the bank brought in 2 huge trash bags full of old smelly clothes. I was quite amazed! Of course we didn't include it with our gifts. I think someone discarded the mess without his knowledge. I never looked at him the same way, after that.

Daisy · Dec 21, 2005

Very good posts! Thanks for starting this thread, Prayers. I think when making donations we should all keep the golden rule in mind "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Homeless or less fortunate people need things that work, clothing without holes, good food to eat, etc. People sometimes mean well but, you are right, others use donations as a way to take out the garbage, tax deductions and/or to give themselves a pat on the back while taking out the garbage and getting a tax deduction on top of it.

Remember the dreams we all had as kids? Wanting to be fireman? A ballerina? An actor/actress, etc. etc.? No one ever says to themselves "When I grow up, I want to be homeless (or in need)".

dancingdaisy · Dec 21, 2005

Daisy said:
Very good posts! Thanks for starting this thread, Prayers. I think when making donations we should all keep the golden rule in mind "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Homeless or less fortunate people need things that work, clothing without holes, good food to eat, etc. People sometimes mean well but, you are right, others use donations as a way to take out the garbage, tax deductions and/or to give themselves a pat on the back while taking out the garbage and getting a tax deduction on top of it.

Remember the dreams we all had as kids? Wanting to be fireman? A ballerina? An actor/actress, etc. etc.? No one ever says to themselves "When I grow up, I want to be homeless (or in need)".

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
Couldnt agree with you more!

Becba · Dec 21, 2005

I've seen people drop broken furniture at night at donation sites. They are basically just too cheap to pay to have it hauled off.

Daisy · Dec 21, 2005

Becba said:
I've seen people drop broken furniture at night at donation sites. They are basically just too cheap to pay to have it hauled off.

Bingo! Using donation sites as a means of disposing of garbage! :furious:

Yakwoman · Dec 21, 2005

Daisy said:
Bingo! Using donation sites as a means of disposing of garbage! :furious:

Exactly! You should see the mountain of junk that gets dumped in our lot at night.

PrayersForMaura · Dec 21, 2005

Daisy said:
Very good posts! Thanks for starting this thread, Prayers. I think when making donations we should all keep the golden rule in mind "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Homeless or less fortunate people need things that work, clothing without holes, good food to eat, etc. People sometimes mean well but, you are right, others use donations as a way to take out the garbage, tax deductions and/or to give themselves a pat on the back while taking out the garbage and getting a tax deduction on top of it.

Remember the dreams we all had as kids? Wanting to be fireman? A ballerina? An actor/actress, etc. etc.? No one ever says to themselves "When I grow up, I want to be homeless (or in need)".

That is a wonderul post.

I can't believe how many people I hear saying "people should be grateful for what they get". Most people do not choose to be poor, and I would venuture to say about 98% of poor people don't want to be the way they are. Now, there are some drug addicts who are poor and do this to themselves, but how do we know they don't want to stop the way they are living and just don't know any other way. *Maybe* that was the only way they knew how to live.

I had a nice life most of my life until we lost everything. It was rough for a while and I was a little ashamed as a kid to take food from an organization for "the poor". I felt we didn't need that, but we did.

Thank God there were people who cared. I don't know what we would've done.

I never forget what we had, where we came from and what I've worked for, and what we didn't have, and how it felt to see others who had even less. And now how it feels to have more and feel guilty because I know what it was like to not even have enough.

It's really tough sometimes.
That's why I really care so much about abused, missing, murdered, poor, and other people. Sometimes even mean people.
The holiday season makes me cry even more sometimes

Prayers for all those around the world and all the pain and suffering.
For the rich and the poor, the sick and the healthy, the missing, and those who grieve for the missing. We all have different things that have affected us in our lives. No one can put a value on that and weigh it and say her pain is worse than his.
It all hurts to some degree.

I feel like I'm preaching :blowkiss:

mesnowmom123 · Dec 21, 2005

Daisy said:
Bingo! Using donation sites as a means of disposing of garbage! :furious:

That's disgusting. I was always taught to be grateful for every little thing. I'm so careful about our donations - I wash every item of clothing, replace any missing buttons, even dry clean items that need it. That may be overboard a bit, but I feel so badly for people in need, I try to at least give items I would be proud to receive/wear.

Dark Knight · Dec 21, 2005

We have the same problem here locally. To me, it's an insult to the basic human dignity that each person has, regardless of economic status.

deanws · Dec 21, 2005

I don't know. If I really had nothing, I probably would be grateful to get pretty much anything CLEAN. As for it being junk....well, if they just dropped it off, maybe they were using it until the day they could afford better. So, in their eyes, it isn't junk.

I am not talking of course about the junk...trash...poopy diaper kind of thing. If wearing stained underware is a crime.....then I must have been a terrible mom when my children were 2-3 years old. Little boys are in a hurry sometimes and don't wipe well.

I used "spray and wash" but sometimes the little stains were still there. They are all grown now, so I guess wearing the "little stains" didn't hurt them too much! LOL. As for the dumping, that is illegal. Trash pick up...even heavy trash pick up is avaliable here for everyone in the city limits. I am sorry the workers have to sort through actual trash. That is just plain WRONG. :slap:

Daisy · Dec 21, 2005

Dark Knight said:
We have the same problem here locally. To me, it's an insult to the basic human dignity that each person has, regardless of economic status.

Dark Knight, excellent. One thing that some people fail to remember is that people who are homeless, in need, etc. are HUMAN BEINGS, not some "lesser" species.

PrayersforMaura, I'm with you in that this whole issue is very heartbreaking and even more so this time of year.

Does make a person want to cry.

Daisy · Dec 21, 2005

deandaniellws said:
I don't know. If I really had nothing, I probably would be grateful to get pretty much anything CLEAN. As for it being junk....well, if they just dropped it off, maybe they were using it until the day they could afford better. So, in their eyes, it isn't junk. I am not talking of course about the junk...trash...poopy diaper kind of thing. If wearing stained underware is a crime.....then I must have been a terrible mom when my children were 2-3 years old. Little boys are in a hurry sometimes and don't wipe well. I used "spray and wash" but sometimes the little stains were still there. They are all grown now, so I guess wearing the "little stains" didn't hurt them too much! LOL. As for the dumping, that is illegal. Trash pick up...even heavy trash pick up is avaliable here for everyone in the city limits. I am sorry the workers have to sort through actual trash. That is just plain WRONG. :slap:

Hey, deandaniellws, how ya doin'? :blowkiss: Hey, it's not just little boys...you oughta see my dh's undies sometimes. :sick:

jannuncutt · Dec 21, 2005

deandaniellws said:
I don't know. If I really had nothing, I probably would be grateful to get pretty much anything CLEAN. As for it being junk....well, if they just dropped it off, maybe they were using it until the day they could afford better. So, in their eyes, it isn't junk. I am not talking of course about the junk...trash...poopy diaper kind of thing. If wearing stained underware is a crime.....then I must have been a terrible mom when my children were 2-3 years old. Little boys are in a hurry sometimes and don't wipe well. I used "spray and wash" but sometimes the little stains were still there. They are all grown now, so I guess wearing the "little stains" didn't hurt them too much! LOL. As for the dumping, that is illegal. Trash pick up...even heavy trash pick up is avaliable here for everyone in the city limits. I am sorry the workers have to sort through actual trash. That is just plain WRONG. :slap:

Wearing your own stained underwear is one thing. Having to wear someone else's stained underwear is quite another. I would never donate such an item and I think that it is disgusting to do so.

deanws · Dec 21, 2005

Daisy said:
Hey, deandaniellws, how ya doin'? :blowkiss: Hey, it's not just little boys...you oughta see my dh's undies sometimes. :sick:

LOL..I hear ya! :blowkiss:

Becba · Dec 21, 2005

jannuncutt said:
Wearing your own stained underwear is one thing. Having to wear someone else's stained underwear is quite another. I would never donate such an item and I think that it is disgusting to do so.

I always feel sorry for the people that have to sort thru that stuff. Who knows what they are having to put their hands on.
We used to buy the stuffed toys for our dogs to play with. Always washed them first. Can you imagine not washing a used stuffed toy and letting your kid snuggle it?
And I guess people need inexpensive underwear but that is just too creepy.

deanws · Dec 21, 2005

Becba said:
I always feel sorry for the people that have to sort thru that stuff. Who knows what they are having to put their hands on.
We used to buy the stuffed toys for our dogs to play with. Always washed them first. Can you imagine not washing a used stuffed toy and letting your kid snuggle it?
And I guess people need inexpensive underwear but that is just too creepy.

We used to take care of stuff like that at our school. I am not sure what the little ones do for new under garments if they are younger than preschool. It is very sad.

PrayersForMaura · Dec 21, 2005

deandaniellws said:
We used to take care of stuff like that at our school. I am not sure what the little ones do for new under garments if they are younger than preschool. It is very sad.

yeah, especially if your house burns down and all you have are the clothes on your back and nothing else. You even need to get new socks, shoes and underwear. It's sad, and even sadder if the insurance doesn't cover the majority of your costs.

Yakwoman · Dec 21, 2005

jannuncutt said:
Wearing your own stained underwear is one thing. Having to wear someone else's stained underwear is quite another. I would never donate such an item and I think that it is disgusting to do so.

:clap: Well said!

Charities don't want your junk, either

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