As many know I am soon to be a resident of Clarksville TN so I’m in the frantic process of getting everything packed and ready for my move. As part of this grand tradition I’ve found a number of items in the way of furniture that I don’t need, so being the kind of person I am it would be great to donate them to some other poor soul that could use them and would appreciate them. So, I got on the telephone, eager to share my prosperity and help another person out and …..
Reality set in quickly. I could not find a single charitable organization that would accept, much less actually pick up furniture and a washer/dryer all that are in extremely good condition and less than 10 years old! One particular agency told me they would accept money, but nothing else, another asked if my furniture was new. I said, of course not, why would I donate brand new furniture??? She sarcastically said, we just don’t have time for trashy furniture! I curtly informed her that it wasn’t trashy, in fact if I had not told you as much, you’d swear it was new, but she was rude and told me they don’t care.
Don’t care??? Don’t care???? All the crying and begging I hear on the news about how they need things for all these poor people that are displaced or starting over or lost everything in the many disasters ….. but no, they want only new things. Can you believe that? I had one group that said they only accept money and nothing else. When I said no thank you, they called me back three times insisting I should make a cash donation! Totally outrageous. Apparently all have forgotten the old quote “baggers can’t be choosers”.
So, out of curiosity, I looked in my files and found that over the past 25 years I have donated over $30,000 in cash and quite a few things, including a car to a number of different agencies. I’m certainly not rich, but I think this is a pretty generous track record over the years.
Well friends, I must say that my donations have officially ended, at least to any of the national agencies. We lived through watching the American Red Cross and their dishonesty, watch the Vietnam Vets and AMVETS sink from once lofty goals, and now watch the Salvation Army also take on a very snooty outlook, despite their claims of following the religious foundations they came from. All have apparently abandoned the poorest of the poor. From now on, I’m giving spare change to the bums on the street. Yeah, I know what they are going to spend it on but at least they aren’t picky and they do appreciate every dime that comes their way.
What a world we live in!
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briteyes35
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May 19 @ 3:35PM
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Perfectly said !! kudos to you my friend . Agencies are always saying they will take stuff if in good condition but always they seem to be greedy and the poor suffer due to it
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ttomtarr
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May 19 @ 4:00PM
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You can always give to the Boy Scouts. The United Way, and other umbrella agencies dropped them because they refuse to let homosexual men take a group of their young boys out into the woods with no other adults present.
The Scouts get all my cash donations now. Yeah Scouts. They have the courage to just say no.
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Redwicket
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May 19 @ 4:27PM
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Here in Oregon they will still take stuff, and some will even pick up depending of what
it is and if they will be in your area...But, that said they sell the stuff in Thrift shops, and
the prices have steadily gone up, until now the price of used is Almost the price of new.
It's Crazy.....
Thank you for a great blog...kudos 
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bardnsage
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May 19 @ 4:29PM
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Check the weather,,,,if the weather is good, put the stuff on the lawn, and put a nice big sign on it,,,,,"Free. You must take it all." See how fast it goes then,,,,,
If the weather is bad, or the stuff is not in good shape, or it is just your basic household trash you don't want to pay to get rid of,,,,,,spend a few dollars at local Chinese Family Dollar, buy some gift wrap. Wrap it all up, put it in the back of your truck, or neighbor's truck, drive to mall on Friday night, go have dinner, do some shopping, and come back later to a clean truck.
Seriously,,,,,, I had to part with some furniture, PDQ. I threw it on the truck, drove to the Wal-mart parking lot, put up a cardboard sign on the back of the truck,,,,,FREE STUFF,,,,, and it was gone before the marker dried on the sign.
Also, contact the local elementary school, to see if they have a partnership with a resource center. It's usually a small non-profit that becomes a clearing house for shoes, coats, etc. etc.,,,,,,to be given away to people in emergency situations.
I have also parted with stuff via a neighborhood yard sale. On Thrusday or Friday, find someone setting up a yard sale, and offer to split the proceeds if you drop it off. GONE.
I once debated putting up a sign in Spanish,,,,,,but the stuff never lasted that long.
United Way,,,,,they will not take it. It's hard to skim 40% off a washer and dryer.
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Redwicket
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May 19 @ 4:35PM
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OMG BardnSage...You are sooo Sneaky...HA! I thought it was great!
Great Ideas too...yes, I've had good experience with the Free Stuff sign too. And, in
Eugene garage selling is considered a hobby... 
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Sweetheart83446
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May 19 @ 5:45PM
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Did you try Good Will? The Salvation Army? Habitat for Humanity? Americas Thrift Store?
I live in TN and tany of the above would be happy to pick your stuff up.
You can drop it off at my house if you want. Is it purple with pink stripes? Please say yes. 
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SallyF
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May 19 @ 6:08PM
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Freecycle.com is in many communities now to match 'stuff' with folks who need it---the individuals do their own pickup. And St Vincent de Paul still has trucks for pickup of donations (at least in this area). The non profits have become more picky---too many folks were using them as easy dumpsters. Good luck, Al, on your new adventure!
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SunBabe
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May 19 @ 6:52PM
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~sigh~ I know EXACTLY the dilemma and frustration, not to mention the ire, you've gone through, Injuneer.
I have an antique solid mahogany baby grand piano, rotting away in a storage locker (supposedly worth $3000, before it got stored) that I tried for WEEKS to donate to a worthy cause or charity back in Connecticut. I spent days calling schools, agencies, churches, clubs...even dancing schools and bars. Mostly I got "No thank you" from Goodwill, schools and churches, but some offered to take it off my hands for $200-500 if I'd provide a delivery truck.  (There wasn't a Free-cycle or Craig's List back then...everything had to be done by phone or newspaper ad, which wasn't the safest thing in my situation).
I actually gagged when I had to hire TWO dumpsters to toss out all the very usable, resale worthy things that Goodwill refused. I'd already taken 6 carloads over, but they informed me they really only wanted NEW things. Not ONE agency could provide me with a name of someone who might appreciate a houseful of furniture and accessories. I even called the fire department when a family was burned out of their home -- they said to donate money because the owners wanted to buy their own new things.
I can understand how thrift shops can be overwhelmed by "stuff" to sort out, but most of what I wanted to donate wasn't "crap"...it just wasn't "new".
Thank goodness my trashman who'd provided the dumpsters was a died in the wool old Yankee. He sorted through the stuff and rescued a whole bunch (bicycles, books, family room furniture, patio furniture, computers, small appliences, art and craft supplies, etc)...he had the room and time to pass things along a little at a time and personal sources who'd accept the things on an "as needed" basis. (And bein' a smart ol' Yankee, he's the one who got the tax deductions and still charged me full price for the dumpsters...but at least I felt better that someone would benefit from my move  )
For years I donated to "good causes". But after what I've experienced over the last few years, I, too, am choosing to donate personally...and changing some of my focus to benefit ME, for a change -- now that I have the time and have discovered Craig'$$$ List online.  
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Redwicket
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May 19 @ 7:08PM
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You know here on the Coast in Florence and Mapleton there are Women's centers to
help Women and Children get out of abusive situations, they take decent used stuff
and pass it along via a Free Store...Perhaps there is something of this kind in your area.
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imlost2
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May 19 @ 8:47PM
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There are also churches that have people begging for help too, I'd call a few and see if someone is in need of your treasures. I did the free sign on the front lawn too and you wouldn't believe how fast ppl picked up the items. It's nice to be able to give to those in need, you are a good guy
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