Out of curiosity, what did you have them in?
I brought them in some baskets and figured they would have a bin of sorts that I could put them in.
If I left them the baskets, they wouldn’t have minded.
I wish I had an axe so I could chop up the chair and stick it in the trash cans. I’ll give it another day or two on the streets.
You know, just before I saw this, I was thinking if you had an axe, you could chop it up and then set it on fire … 
(yes, that’s a joke, though I do know someone who did exactly that, as no one would take his chair either).
When I donate, I leave with a feeling of guilt, that I should do more, etc. Around Xmas, I donated about $200 worth of clothing, toys, etc. to the local AIDS charity, and I thought it would make me feel good. It made me feel like I should just give them every cent I have to spare. I cried for days thinking about it.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but giving to those “less fortunate” makes me feel like a spoiled ingrate.
But, I don’t feel bad when I donate to PBS. That I can handle. And bags to Goodwill are easy as well. I do that more to rid myself of old clothing than anything else. I like giving it to charity, but I don’t see it as some big deal.
I wish I did feel guilty that I hadn’t done more. It’s just that, absent a monetary donation, it seems that most charities just roll their eyes at me when I come by.
The charities which I’ve given money to seem to love me.
If I had an old beat up car that could barely reach 5 mph and was missing a door, charities would be bidding for the right to pick it up.
Well, to look at it from their side for a second, it’s a problem of volume. Any place that takes donations of clothing is going to see tons of it every day - unless their bins are the size of dumpsters, they’re not going to be at all useful. Most places are lucky to have a sorting table, and usually that is already covered with clothing that’s been sitting around the back room for two weeks and is only just now being taken care of. As much as I’m sure they would have liked to take your clothing, it wouldn’t be worth much of anything after spending a few days on the floor in the back. It can be pretty scary back there.
I usually bring things in paper grocery bags. The clothes stay reasonably neat, they’re easy to carry (handles!), and at least they’re not touching the floor. I’m sure your local charity would probably be fine with garbage bags as well. Anything that will keep the clothing away from dirt and nastiness.
They did take my clothing, they just complained about it.
I understand their problem, but it just wasn’t explained well to me.
What I hate even more is the acknowledgement that says, “thank you so much for the donation…could you give more?”.
My long nightmare is over. I had to pay somebody to haul my old chair to the dump.
Just be a little apprehensive about your phone.
We had to inform DWB that if they didn’t stop telephoning us to ask for contributions, they would be Doctors Without Dough.
I’d like to say “Thank you Mr. and Mrs. BobT for sending these fine children to college and raising a son who cares so much to do the right thing and honor your memory”
And Thank you BobT
Bringing back my old thread, I volunteered to be a mentor through the alumni association. I was told of whom I was matched up with.
The student opted to not pursue the matter.
Ha!
Really, it makes me think of my dear sweet cousin. She calls up our grandmother when she needs money or suchlike, but not on Christmas or Easter. Gran’s just the old moneytap for her. Whereas I (and I admit it’s mostly because I live so close) visit my grandmother weekly. We went to church together and out for lunch, sometimes grocery shopping or something-else-shopping. And because she is my grandmother and she is very bad about actually hearing the words “no please let me pick up the bill” I tend to (with protest) carry so much stuff back from these outings that it takes two trips to get it upstairs. It’s nice when you’re a starving college graduate.
Yeah, I was about to ask how you knew that she wasn’t in a car wreck, or that she didn’t totally space it out because her mom was in the hospital, but I’m sure she would have mentioned that if it’d been the case.
One of my scholarships required me to go to a buffet thingy to pick up the check. That’s what your school should’ve done.
I’ll not be making any item donations to the Salvation Army ever again. Last time I assembled a box of household items (glassware, dishes, books and decorative items, all in good condition) and took it to the receiving door of their thrift store, I was met at my car by a scowling asshole who demanded to see the merchandise before I unloaded it.
“We don’t want that,” he said.
“Pardon me?” I responded, somewhat confused.
“We don’t need any of that,” he grunted.
“Very well, I won’t come here, ever again” I said, and drove off.
The way he inspected my offering, I think he was looking for jewels or antiques, not the usual thrift store fare. With no evidence whatsoever, I nonetheless believe a lot of the best donations never make it to the shelves of the thrift store, and get sold on eBay by unscrupulous employees.
Which does remind me of last Sunday’s (1/29) Simpsons episode where Marge bemoans the fact that she didn’t sell much of anything at her yard sale and she will have to take it to the Salvation Army. As she says that, a Salvation Army truck passes by and the driver yells “We don’t want it!”
BobT, I totally hear you. I signed up to send items regularly to a program for inner-city kids. I also sent a non-trivial donation right around Christmas to an online colleague who reported having fallen on hard times.
Not a peep from either one.
It makes me want to stand up and scream, “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!”
I don’t expect to be worshipped, but an acknowledgment would be nice.
I don’t think it’s etiquette or manners. It’s gratitude.
Well, if it makes you feel any better…
I just received a substantial fellowship for my work on endothelial cell formation. I noticed that the donor of this fellowship is living and still involved in the field, and I immediately thought of this thread. So, I contacted the people administering the fellowship and asked if I could write a personal thank you letter to the donor. The way they looked at me, I could’ve grown a third head. “What an amazing idea!”, they said. “She’ll be so happy!”.
Um, guys, the donor is pissed at you because you FORGOT to give out this fellowship for the past four years* and it didn’t occur to you to suggest a gesture of appreciation?
So I’m (literaly) in the middle of writing my letter to her, and this thread popped up again - perfect timing. And now, thanks to BobT, the development office thinks I walk on water.
mischievous
*this is why it’s so substantial this year - the money has been accumulating.