6 questions you should ask before donating goods overseas

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Comments

[Saundra]

Jill,

It's best not to send over anything at this point. For stuff in the attic consider having a garage sale and donating the money or donate the goods to a local women's shelter

[Jill Mielewski]

what about used porta-cribs and baby clothes? I have an attic full of baby stuff.

[Saundra]

Tanya,

I hate to say it, but the chances of these goods making it through the port are pretty slim. The ports are already getting clogged with goods that the organizations have not been able to get out either because they lack vehicles and fuel, the items were sent without a person on the ground to retrieve them, the items have been buried under other items, or they weren't properly marked. Also planes and boats are turned back often because the ports can only support so much traffic.

For more on this see the post Coordination after Disasters

[Tanya]

I am a little confused. Your article states what not to donate. I would like to know what to donate. I belong to an organization that has started collection of the following toiletries for 50-100 boxes for men and a 50-100 for women:

For ALL boxes:
Toothbrush
Tooth
Soap
Shampoo & Conditioner
Deodorant
Lotion
Hand Towel
Hand Sanitizer
Lip Balm
Comb
Brush

For Men’s boxes:
Underwear
T-shirt

For Women’s boxes:
Maxi pads
Underwear
T-shirt/tank
Hair bands

We are sending the boxes through an organization that has local distribution in Haiti, so we do not think it will clog any ports. But is this in vain now?

[mjfrombuffalo]

I would add to #3, "Do they STILL need the donation?" The email you get today saying that someone needs "X" might be based on news that's days, weeks, or months old, and it could be that the people who once needed "X" are now drowning in "X."

I once made the mistake of not putting an end date on a suitcase drive for foster kids. I received hundreds of suitcases, much more than I could handle and more than the receiving agency could accept. A year later, I was still getting calls from people wanting to give me suitcases. Luckily, Internet access wasn't universal yet and so my drive didn't go viral, but I can only imagine the tsunami of suitcases I'd have received if it had been.