What is the most useful thing -
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,255
We had a local family lose all of their possessions in a house fire. They were devastated. There was an outpouring of love from the community. They were asked, "What do you need the most?" They said beds, linens, children toys...just everything. There was a staging area in a local warehouse. Donors were told to only send, new or "like" new items. We donated a never used trundle bed for the kids. My sister donated brand new bed linens and I had the idea to go with the bed theme and give them a queen size quilt I just got back from the long-armer. The family stayed with relatives for 9 months. The donations languished in the warehouse. The family was waiting for the insurance to finally settle with them. Once they got the insurance settlement, half of the donations went to Salvation Army and the other half went to the dump. So what is the right answer of how to respond to a disaster?
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,825
I guess it depends on the type of disaster. Having once been without electricity for 8 days due to a wildfire in our area, the things we did use were, emergency candles and batteries. If you would rather not donate money (which I totally understand) then these simple items are useful.
#14
Wow, good question. I feel bad about things given that are later thrown away. So sad. But, for many situations, there is a lag time between the disaster and getting into a new housing situation. Our natural inclination is quilts, of course, but if you don't have a bed or a place to store a quilt until you Do have a bed, is it really a comfort? Depends on the nature of the disaster.
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 07-02-2019 at 05:45 PM. Reason: shouting/all caps
#16
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 17,636
I guess it depends on the type of disaster. Having once been without electricity for 8 days due to a wildfire in our area, the things we did use were, emergency candles and batteries. If you would rather not donate money (which I totally understand) then these simple items are useful.
We once went without power for almost two weeks bc the light company
didn't know?
Anyway,...it was winter and we all camped out on pallets in the living room
and had a kerosene heater.
Food, clean clothing and baths were what we needed the most.
We still went to work and school. We thankfully had a gas stove and I was
able to cook, but when my dd's bf took me and the girls to his (parents)
house for a shower after a week his mother acted miffed and went to bed
while we also washed laundry.
Wipes for babies would have been a help, but someone else mentioned
prayers and of all the things I would want someone to do for me that
would be numero uno.
Give with a thankful heart, you never know when you will need help .
Last edited by Mousie; 07-02-2019 at 04:28 PM.
#17
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 17,636
I guess it really depends on the family and what their stated need is, remembering that the need can change as time goes on. Friends had a fire in their house which is now being renovated. When asked what, if anything, they need, they say "nothing yet." I guess moral support is what they really need. Someone to ask how they're doing and maybe invite them to dinner now and then?
It's amazing how all the things we are sentimental about in our daily lives and
would hate to lose all fade away when faced with the basic needs for our
family.
I was once horribly sick and my life before Mayo Clinic etc. existed in a recliner
sitting up and any sleep was precious. Prayer, meds, food and bathroom were
all that existed, but moral support can help save a life and a mind.
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,299
Depending on the scale and location of the disaster, I'd tailor my donation. For a natural disaster, I trust a certain organization to handle finances with integrity and wisdom based on their vast experience . If I know, or know of, a certain individual who is near the disaster and personally asking for specific kinds of donations to help, I will send what I can. Blankets to a dialysis center in FL were wanted. Toiletries after Katrina I coordinated the making and sending of 259 drawstring bags made by sewists all over the world. We filled them with toiletries to a minister my parents knew in TX. He handed them out as we mailed them, and that went on for 5 months. One family in our school suffered a house fire and people signed up to take meals to their grandmother's house where they had relocated to. I filled a small basket with snacks for the kids' lunches so the mom just had to make the sandwich and not worry about the "extras" . She said it was very helpful to have a "grab and go" basket of snacks for the month immediately following the fire (her husband was battling cancer during this time, too, so he was too weak to work or shop).
#19
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dallas area, Texas, USA
Posts: 3,050
Lots of good suggestions so far, and that truly heartbreaking story from Crispy-Frog! It seems to me you were a victim of that disaster, too, and what a sad, neglected loss. I think there's a lesson in that, and I won't donate quilts except through an organization like Project Linus or a guild that has an actual plan for things being used properly.
I thought of one other helpful thing: A lot of times families are driven out of their homes and there are organizations that can help the people, but their pets are a problem. Offering to foster a dog, cat, bird or whatever until they can get back to normal routines might be much appreciated, and might keep the animal from being left to an uncertain fate in a shelter.
I thought of one other helpful thing: A lot of times families are driven out of their homes and there are organizations that can help the people, but their pets are a problem. Offering to foster a dog, cat, bird or whatever until they can get back to normal routines might be much appreciated, and might keep the animal from being left to an uncertain fate in a shelter.
#20
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Vancouver Island, Beautiful BC
Posts: 2,090
that can be donated to a family or a community after a disaster?
Not a new topic or discussion - but - I think it deserves to be brought up again.
I think in many cases, money/cash and/or useful labor would probably be most wanted.
Many of us think "a quilt" - but for the amount of time and money spent on a quilt, how much toilet paper, laundry detergent, food, etc. could be purchased?
I also am concerned about money/cash being used the way it "should" be, but - as others have said - if one does due diligence before donating, all one can do is hope that it is used in a meaningful way for the people it was meant for.
And - are we really doing anyone a favor when we are "donating" stuff that is one step away from our trash?
Not a new topic or discussion - but - I think it deserves to be brought up again.
I think in many cases, money/cash and/or useful labor would probably be most wanted.
Many of us think "a quilt" - but for the amount of time and money spent on a quilt, how much toilet paper, laundry detergent, food, etc. could be purchased?
I also am concerned about money/cash being used the way it "should" be, but - as others have said - if one does due diligence before donating, all one can do is hope that it is used in a meaningful way for the people it was meant for.
And - are we really doing anyone a favor when we are "donating" stuff that is one step away from our trash?
Many donations of clothes, arrived, but it was a distribution nightmare.
When wildfires caused a large evacuation in BC, the SPCA requested pet crates, food, leashes, bowls etc and local SPCA's around the province collected the donations and they were put the good use at the animal relief centre.
I am lucky to have not faced such losses, but I think it is unreasonable to ask a person what they need when they have just lost everything. They both need everything, but also truly are not in the head space to know what they need immediately
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