This morning as I was getting breakfast , I ran into a big supply drive. In order to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, people are filling up a rented box truck with donated supplies. It seems to me that everyone is going out and paying full retail for the supplies they donate, as most people are giving new in package items. Then you add the cost of the truck, and driving it from Maine to Texas. They were even asking people to stop at local stores and buy things to give, with no clear indication of what is really needed.
It hardly seems worth the money and effort. Why not just donate the $10 to a Houston-area charity, rather than buy three cereal boxes from the grocery store and have them hauled across the country?
As with food banks, give money and take advantage of supply chain efficiencies.
I learned a while ago that giving supplies is not the best thing. Not only do problems arise like the OP mentioned (higher costs, don’t get the right things) but also the supplies end up overwhelming the recipients and making more work for the charities on the ground.
From Charity Navigator:
I think people just feel the need to do *something *and they also feel that just giving money is crass or un-personal. And as I’m seeing around here, supply donation drives are a great advertising tool for local businesses and organizations :rolleyes: It’s kind of like dick measuring - whoever has the biggest pile of stuff wins!
You don’t get the fantasy of little refugee children’s faces lighting up at the sight of your Froot Loops getting pulled out of a crate when you’re just writing a check that’ll be used to buy generic corn flakes (and feed 10x more kids, dollar for dollar).
Yes. Even our local food bank asks for food drives and there isn’t a good reason for it! I give to the state agency that supplies all of them where every dollar buys a shitload of food.
It’s not the best idea to send supplies. But if you must do it, there are three organizations which can be trusted to get them to those in need: LDS churches, Mosques, and Quaker Meeting Houses.
These religions are all very strong organizers with a deeply held and constantly exercised commitment to helping those in need. Quakers often meet in rented spaces though, so when in doubt, look for Mormons or Muslims in surrounding areas* to receive the supplies and make sure they are distributed usefully.
Larger organizations like the Red Cross are receiving supplies in large, carefully planned shipments, and don’t have time to sort through making decisions about individual items.
*Don’t address packages or send trucks to the center of the disaster zone. Packages will end up sitting in the post office waiting until local service is resumed. And fuel for vehicles in that area is at a premium and best saved for organized disaster relief. Aim for an organization about 10 miles out from the disaster circumference.
Another thought: Tools, building, and clean-up supplies can be usefully sent to Habitat for Humanity or Rebuilding Together. Again, choose one in the outlying areas. And if you donate the money instead, they can use it far more efficiently, getting nearly two for one compared to your retail spending.
The only place supply drives is really useful is when they are in the local area involved and done immediately: by next week the local retail establishments will have been re-opened and replenished.
This.
The Red Cross has ALWAYS told people that they don’t want their “stuff”; however, other organizations do, and it’s best to know the difference.
I haven’t donated yet, but I know that Habitat for Humanity will be getting some money, because they’ll be needing a lot of it. They helped rebuild (among other places) Grand Forks and Joplin after those cities were seriously damaged by natural disasters.
A few days ago I saw a news report where the reporter was in a shelter standing at the base of what looked like a 12 foot pile of random clothes (it was roughly twice as tall as she was) and talking about conditions in the shelter. There was a woman standing on top of the pile and digging through it. The reporter mentioned that the woman was looking for an extra-large pair of pants.
The logistics for handling a random, unorganized collection of stuff and getting it to someone who can use it are just not there in the middle of a disaster. They don’t even have hangars and racks to organize clothes on.
What is all boils down to is: Money is highly fungible and everything else isn’t. So just send them your fungi.