Salvation Army rant!

[momejay]

When my mom passed away, I moved into her home & I had found myself with too many appliances. I put my freezer out in our barn (which meant that there was 2 out there), along with my fridge & electric dryer. I called everyone I could think of to donate these items.
The Salvation Army came to look at the things including the freezer, but because I had unplugged & it cleaned it out they wouldn't take it. (maybe thinking it was broken?) They wanted the one that had all the food in it. So I transferred the food to the clean freezer & they said they would return later that day to get the older, & less clean looking freezer. They asked if they could have a lamp & an end table that was ready to go to the junkyard. I gave them those items. They never returned. I called to ask if they still wanted one of the freezers & they said that they only take refridgerators. HUH?
Later, I took it to the junkyard & they paid me for it. Even if the Salvation Army had loaded it on the truck & took it to the junkyard for me, they would have gotten the $20!
I still have a fridge & a small freezer in the barn. I sold the dryer to a friend for the $20 it took me to pay someone to deliver it to them. It is a shame, but I won't call them again.

 

[Cindi0511]

Yes, I can see both sides of this issue, too. Also, I can see if someone has been screamed at all day or even if they were just having a bad day, they might be more snippy or rude than they meant to be. I used to never give to SA because I thought they were like a lot of "charities" where the big cheeses got paid big bucks and the people who were supposed to benefit got very little if anything. That all changed with Hurricane Charley. No, we didn't get brand new appliances or brand name clothes, but they were here. And they were kind. And they didn't have to be -- there's nothing that I "deserve" from anyone.

And I admit that pretty much every time I've passed a kettle since then, I have emptied every last bit of change out of my wallet for my girls to put in. No, they haven't gotten all my grocery money, and it hasn't hurt me to give, but I no longer feel responsible for or the need to control every decision or action or word someone related to them makes. They do work hard for some good when and where they can. And I truly appreciate it!

Thanks so much to all of you who are related to these types of organizations and work so hard to help others. I know the thanks is often few and far between, but God sees it even if no one else does!

 

[lntsmom]

Next time, call the Council for the Blind. They pick up and they are very nice about taking things!

 

[lntsmom]

In my experience, the salvation army/good will stores I've been in recently haven't been in the position to reject anything that they thought wasn't the highest quality...the stores I was in were really dirty in general (and they smelled). We were looking for a couple small pieces of furniture and everything was either super outdated or just junk (like the assemble-yourself, fake wood-type stuff from Walmart, which is fine new, but once it's been moved a few times just starts to fall apart). I'm sure all the stores aren't like that, but these were. I think if it works well, why not take it? .

I'm with you on this one! 15 or 20 years ago I did a lot of shopping at thrift stores, mostly Goodwill, the DAV, and Salvation Army. I always found decent stuff...some of it was retro, other times things just needed a coat of paint.

Among my finds were a small chest of drawers, a 3-drawer end-table, and a side table. Given a coat of paint, all were just fine. I still have them!

Then, I noticed a big change. First, the prices went through the roof. Where before I'd paid maybe $8 for the drawers, similar items were now priced $40 or $50. In addition, the stores started stocking items that were clearly dirty, rusty, and broken.

Additionally, they started doing odd things. Once I went into Salvation Army and they had a leather couch marked $800!!! If you have $800 for a couch, why the heck would you buy it used? The DAV started having a "display only" case. They had an Irish toasting cup in it. I waited and waited...after 3 months I asked about it. I was told the items in that case were there at the manager's discretion and he decided they weren't for sale. Now, how many folks donate stuff to charity thinking some wabbo is going to stick it in a case and look at it forever. I even called their main office to complain. The next time I went it they had a price on it...$365! It wasn't gold or even silver, nor was it an antique. Give me a break! The next time, it was gone.

My last big purchase of a used item was last year at Goodwill. We'd just moved here and needed furniture desperately. I purchased beds and a sofa new, but was looking for a recliner for my son. I found one that seemed to be clean and working. The second time my son reclined on it we found out it's little secret...you couldn't get it back upright. I ended up tossing it in the dumpster a few weeks later.

Yes, I understand these groups use their profits for good causes, but selling broken, dirty junk isn't the way to encourage people to shop in their stores. I have decided that from now on, garage sales and flea markets are fine, but we'll avoid the charity stores!

 

[DMRick]

I put my stuff on freecycle, and it's usually gone in a matter of hours. I did get a wonderful lift chair for an older lady from someone on freecycle, and it was a real lifesaver.

 

[gomagic]

I can relate to most of you reagrding SA. My family stopped donating items to them years ago after one time we dropped off some clothing, which we had placed inside of plastic bags, and they proceeded to throw them in a pile outside the building. This was they area where they were now storing drop off until they got sorted. It would have probably been okay if they area had been covered by more than a sagging tarp. It makes me wonder what thaey actually did with all the clothing that was out there.

On another note the local SA campaign for raising funds this holiday season rubbed more than a few people the wrong way. They repeatedly put rather substantial size ads in the newspaper requesting that at least local 3000 families to drop $10.00 or more into their kettles in order for them to make their goal. I will donate to charities and have in the past, but please don't tell me how much I have to give.

 

[lntsmom]

gomagic...that's when I quit giving to the United Way! I got hired to teach in KCMO, and along with my first paycheck I got a bill. A BILL!!!! It was from the United Way, telling me that, according to their information, I owed them ____ amount of money...something like 2% of my gross pay. What the heck! I've never given them a penny again.

It didn't surprise me some years later to read about how corrupt the organization is!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I hate when you see a donation place dumping clothes and linens in the dumpster! Because they are outdated, worn, maybe stained. I love deseret industries for this reason. First they pick out the clothes good enough to go in the thrift store. Then they pick those good enough to go overseas to developing areas. The rest don't go in the dumpster. They get cut down into rags and sold.

My husband works for Goodwill- they do have a similar program called "Good Wipes" to cut down/sell unsuitable clothing as rags. They also have an international program to sell bulk lots of clothing domestically or overseas to fund their programs.

 

[Dominus]

I donate to a church shelter. I think the SA would rather beg for money outside walmart. It's easier. All profit, little work. I never give money to little league teams, oh wait, I'll start a new thread with that.

 

[winnapooh]

gomagic...that's when I quit giving to the United Way! I got hired to teach in KCMO, and along with my first paycheck I got a bill. A BILL!!!! It was from the United Way, telling me that, according to their information, I owed them ____ amount of money...something like 2% of my gross pay. What the heck! I've never given them a penny again.

It didn't surprise me some years later to read about how corrupt the organization is!

Our workplace has a United Way drive...I'm sure it's great for the United Way as far as raising money, but I think it's really horrible that a workplace try to dictate which charity I should support! They (my company) even give prizes for how much you give!!! And on top of that, they allow United Way to keep spamming us (mail and email) if we don't give, or don't give more than we gave last year! It's ridiculous! I refuse to give to United Way (since they stopped funding the boy scouts, but that's another thread for another day). I do support Salvation Army and Goodwill when I can, but I have my own preferred charitites; I don't need anyone at work telling me which one I should support!

 

[CajunDixie]

Don't get me started on the Salvation Army.

First of all, I work in a Department Store, I see the bell ringers at the entrance 5 days a week for 2 months. Every afternoon when I left, they were standing there either smoking cigarettes or having loud conversations on th cell phone. Needless to say I wasn't giving change most days.

Then I figured I would spread some cheer and pull an angel off the tree for the Salvation Army's needy child drive. I figured I could spend $30 or so on a sweatshirt or a toy. The tags on the tree were for PSPs, an I-pod, Nike sneakers. 3 of them had the kid requesting their own lap-top -- 2 of them actually said $100 cash!

You didn't hurt the bell-ringers, they don't get the money. Volunteers are hard to come by. Maybe next time you'll be the bigger person and donate to help the needy rather than judge them by the volunteers at the donation sites.

Forgot to add: As for the Angel Tree, why shouldn't kids put what they are wishing for on the tree? We see on the DIS all the time people being generous and making huge donations. Do you think these kids should be told to write down their Christmas Wish....just make sure it's less than $XX? How sad!

that she would not take the dishwasher. I have no problem disposing of it myself, or paying the fee to do so. I can understand a lot of the reasons that they may not accept it. she should have told us a better/more acceptable reason. What offends me is her attitude toward us, and her statement that "poor people don't need dishwashers, they can do their dishes in the sink". It seemed very obvious that she looks down on people that are having financial hardships. I have been there, I know how it feels to be looked down on due to being poor. It is not fun. And to have somebody at SA with that attitude is just awful!

Maybe she understands that the poor people can't afford plumbers to hook it up. And maybe she realizes how expensive dishwasher soap is compared to a bottle of Dawn. I've never had a dishwasher but am getting one within the month as we've remodeled. But I'm so not looking forward to buying dishwasher soap!!!! That stuff looks to be very pricey!!!