Community Chat

[Ms tyrion2]

Charity Watch gives Goodwill an A rating.

I prefer them over Salvation Army. I prefer donating to charities who are not aggressively religious.

[pommom]

I donate to a church thrift store.  100% of the proceeds go to their food pantry.  New/gently used clothing are given to those in need.

[CelticCrafter]

We take lots of stuff to Goodwill.  The only thing they turned down were board games and jigsaw puzzles because they don't know if all the pieces are there.  Makes sense and it never dawned on me until they told me why.

I will not give stuff to the Salvation Army because they want too much other stuff to go along with it before they will come and pick it up.

I won't donate to any of those places that send out post cards (Lupus, Big Brother/Sister, Veterans) because once they get your name and phone number they don't leave you alone.

[comedy clubber]

News???  To whom???  Goodwill has been a scam for 25 years.  Selling used jeans to third world country patrons ,  building new buildings while abandoning the old.  Give to a reputable company, never GW!!!

[shaggygirl]

My recycling center has a huge Goodwill walk-in bin, looks like a big dumpster but opens at the end to walk into it. OMG what a mess people make. There are huge cardboard containers in there but people just toss their stuff anywhere. The last time I went to use it there was broken glass all over the aisle as you walk in and it stunk to high heaven as if someone had tossed food in there.

[SunValley]

@Carmie I remember a rag man too. We had junk collectors too who would resell metal and copper.

Times have changed with so many households empty during the day. About the only people who ring the doorbell are the package delivery folks! Door-to-door solicitations are rare in our area because so many women work and people like me are wary of opening the door to strangers. I look through my viewer and if I’m not sure who they are I shout through the door. I have found that salespeople and the religious pamphlet group don’t like conversing by shouting their business through a closed door and quickly leave. 

[Sooner]

We are careful about what we donate--that it isn't stuff that should be thrown out.  We ALWAYS donate to Salvation Army. 

I am not surprised that a lot of what they get is thrown out. They are so overwhelmed what else could they do?  You can't store it--how would you expect them to?  So I'm ok with that if they get more than they can handle.  

In our area, they have nice resale shops so the best things are put to good use in their shelters and feeding programs which benefit from they cash they get.  They also hire a lot of folks who might not have jobs otherwise.

It is the fault of all of us who bought all this stuff we didn't need and can't use because it was cheap.  That's how we got here.  I accept blame.  Now we/I feel guilty about the waste and want someone else or an organization to take it and make me feel better and less stupid for buying it. 

[sidsmom]

”Goodwill throws donations in trash!”

Good.

No one wants your cr.ap.

People put ALOT of emotion into their ‘schuff’.

What WE think is valuable (because it has a lot of emotion),

everyone else just sees a beat up, old, dumpy table for the trash.

[ALRATIBA]

@wishmoon 

Yes, both Goodwill and Salvation Army sells stuff.  That's why they have stores ... they sell donations and use the money to provide jobs for handcapped and for other charity needs.  The shoes and clothing are sold at low prices so the less fortunate can purchase some fairly decent things to wear.  

Goodwill is a fantastic source for out-of-print books.  I've purchased quite a few from them.   I found some fantastic table lamps at a thrift shop ... can't recall which one.

A few blocks from me you'll find a Goodwill store, a Salvation Army store and a NYC Opera Thrift Store.  

Once items leave my possession either into the Goodwill bin or the Salvation Army truck ... it's no longer my concern.

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@wishmoon wrote:

I'm pretty sure Goodwill sells items given to them. I've seen ppl on eBay talking about the "finds" they get at Goodwill. I don't think the Salvation Army does, at least around here. I donate only good clothing, some in their original bags if they don't fit or I don't like. Once it's out of your hands, you may as well forget it, ppl will probably not donate them to victims of fire, theft or poverty, instead, they'll most likely be sold and the money will go into someone's pocket. I think that so I'm not surprised or concerned. Lots of times even organizations that started out with something good in mind are corrupt.

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[SahmIam]

Son of a friend of ours was a Goodwill manager for a few years. It was interesting to hear his side of how donations and Goodwill worked. There is definitely a difference between a Goodwill and a Goodwill Supercenter; how it's run and what items are carried there. The "good stuff" goes to the more "posh" community Goodwill Supercenters (they're placed by income levels), while the basic Goodwill is in communities not so posh (all determined by household incomes and crime rates). Items are washed before going on the floor, Heavily soiled items are trashed. Anything with mold or mildew is trashed. Broken items are trashed. Things are shipped not only to different centers but also to their Ebay centers where, you guessed it, they are sold on ebay for top dollar. 

This is a well-run organization that pays the bare minimum to the employees, many who are former convicts entering the workforce after serving their time.  Nothing wrong with that but many can not handle money due to their crime so they are assigned tasks fitting with their parole conditions. Some employees have minor Special Needs; some are living day to day but most are there because they WANT to and NEED to work. I have no issue with them getting first dibs on items because it's often they only way the can clothe themselves and their family.

Dont' get me wrong: I think Those Who Are The Big Wigs are scummy. Knowing what happens at my local center, however.... I'm not going to allow the bad apples to rotten the rest of the good ones.