For many of us, the very first response to almost any emergency is "He/She/They need hand-made quilts"

Interestingly enough, some of us are willing to spend $20+ and hours of time on a quilt and donating it - but not so willing to send $20 in cash for mundane things like water and food. (Assuming that the cash would go for what it was intended)

Wonder why?

I think it is because the $20 rarely goes where it should, or may 50 cents of it...

I feel like I am contributing more if I give an object than if I just give cash. It can even be a store bought item. I don't know why; strange, huh????

money is so NONpersonal...seems like it means more to the receiver & the giver if it is a touchy-feely thing!

Sometimes cash or $$ is the best choice... but we often want the reciever to know we cared enough to send something more ... our time ... our caring... our hugs... to us quilters .. quilts are so much of our being we really feel we are giving more when we give quilts.

I have fabric & time, but very few dollars. :roll:

I do not like giving cash there are a few I will give to. After I found out that the arthritis collections only got 25 cents out of every dollar that was collected.

:thumbup:

Me too.
We give time and talents. And plenty of it. That's what makes us happy.
We use our money for bills, helping out the kids and grandkids, buying fabric (my hobby), the History and Military Channels (DH hobby), and going out every now and then for a nice dinner. That's what makes us happy. We will die happy.

I will join you in getting tarred and feathered for this, bear, but why whenever there is a tragedy involving kids, people end up sticking stuffed animals on a chain link fence somewhere?

I always think, gee there are kids in foster care/hospitals who would like those stuffies...

I send in more than $20 for many mundane "things" when I can. I think perhaps one reason I am often hesitant is that the $20. may never get to those in need. For instance, the World Food Program that is about to run out of money to help feed those in Somalia. Unfortunately, southern Somalia is being controlled by al-Shabab right now and they will not accept food from "infidels". Also, in Somalia food sent for those in the famine areas is being stolen and sold. So, I do not think we quilters (or others) are stingy... sometimes we just dont know what to do to really help.

u send what u can.. some it is $, some it is quilts, some it is food..... it's a personal choice.

In these crazy times it can be hard to decide who , what and where to donate. We are particular of who we donate too, If the majority of a monitary donation ( $ ) does not go directly to the ppl it is designed to help, we do not send $. We do not feel comfortable sendign cash to pay saleries, advertising and admistrative costs...

I agree - I think if we "knew" that our $ were being spent in the ways we intended, it would be easier to donate $ to a cause.

There are many reasons. When you give $20.00 most of it will not reach the destination. Sometimes money is better, but only if it can be given in person, which in most cases is not possible. In another instances, everyone will send money to get needed things and forget the little things that make us feel good and loved, and nothing do that better than a quilt, in my opinion. In many cases all you can afford is 10 or 20 dollars, but by donating a quilt it can be sold or raffled off and raise much more than you could donate by giving cash. When I donate a quilt I am not expecting that someone will own it immediately. It can be used any way they see fit to help those in need.

I once made one for Stop Domestic Violence. They had a surplus of them and used mine for a while to decorate their office and later on raffled it to help buy food for their shelter. I am sure at the end someone is loving my quilt and the charitable organization got their much needed assistance.

Sometimes it is exactly what I want to give, maybe not what is exactly wanted to receive.

I give a gift from the heart and hope that is the way it is accepted. What happens to it from the point I "gift" it, is entirely up to the receiver.

Money now goes to many family members for gifts as I have seen what they do with other gifts and my heart says they need money worse at certain times.

I believe it is because people have been burned by charities before. There are very few I give cash to, and that is because I know where the money will be spent -- it's intended purpose, and not for overly inflated salaries of multiple layers of unnecessary management, not 70 cents of every dollar used to pay for fundraising activities (!!!). Next time you get a call or letter asking for a cash donation, ask them to first send you a copy of their annual report which shows their budget. See the responses you get. By law, they have to tell you. They will try to stall. Check out http://www.charitynavigator.org/inde....view&cpid=224 to see more about this and who ends up with what.

And, no tarring and feathering...you just asked a legit question.

I would send money to help...IF someone I knew was going there and would make sure it got to whomever I wanted it to go to.

Once, driving around in Mexico my brother and his wife ran onto a girl's orphanage that was in dire need of everything. So for some years they went back and took a lot of stuff there, and we all dug deep for them. He was/is hard nosed enough to make sure that every dress and every pair of shoes and every dollar went to that orphanage and none other. He even piped in water so they wouldn't have to buy it a few gallons at a time.

Now where else could this happen? Every thing we sent went right there.
But other charities? I don't really trust them.

Very well stated!

Funny, just below my letter when I pushed "SEND" came this thing right below it!!!!!!




Donate Car to Make-A-Wish
Donate your Car to Help CA kids Free towing/ Maximum Tax Deduction
wheelsforwishes. org/ Make-A-Wish

I get tired of everyone wanting money and not items. I have also been dissapointed over the years with how money was handled. If some one needs food I would definitely give food over a quilt. I am just leary over giving money. When we adopted our first two children we also sponsored children in orphanages and send money monthly. When our children were home I asked the agency if I could send a thank you note and a picture to the people that had sponsored our children. I then found out that each of my children had 8 sponsors. The combined monthly money collected on each of my children was the same as a years income in the country they were living. It definitely was not spend on my children.

When asked to donate I always ask where the money ends up-

when the tsunami hit in '05 and then the hurricane in Haiti- I was asked to give. I said- I know we have children in the US that go to bed hungry and don't have shoes. I need to help them first. There will be a lot of help for the natural disasters, but we need to help our children.

I volunteer with AFSP- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It's a difficult subject to talk about but its serves a need- just like awareness groups for diabetes, cancers, etc. I researched it before getting on board- I want to be sure what they provide is good info. I feel comfortable giving money to them as I've seen the benefit of the programs they provide.

Just remember when you're giving money to be sure the charity is legitimate and the money will get to its intended end use.

Barb

What gets me is they ask for cash donations and will send a t-shirt, a bag, a magazine subscription, etc., all free? I think not!

A quilt could last for many years keeping someone warm. Bottles of water will be gone in a heartbeat. I do not donate money, but I can donate my time. ;-)

A quilt will last alot longer and be way more useful than money.

because some think the quilts will be well received and are needed..not always the case..as with the money you never know where the quilt really ends up..until you see one day on ebay!

The $$ however if given to the right hands can provide, gas for a person to get to work, shoes, clothing, tampons....just ask anyone who has actually survived a natural disaster and they will tell you...give the money to a local church that might be doing a mission run to that area..or the Lions club...there is always an organization heading into the area to help where needed..give them $20 for gas money to get there!

Sometimes when we give money only a small amount gets to the cause.

I'd rather give money then quilts to a disaster area need. The last thing when you lose your house and all belongings is wishing for a quilt.

I contribute generously to the Salvation Army for disaster relief. I wasn't aware if they were involved in Japan but I did contibute to New Zealand, Haiti, New Orleans all at the time of their disasters in the past 8 or 10 years. They have a very limited overhead, experience in dealing with that type problem and the people involved are dedicated to a life time of service for very little salary. I've worked with them directly as criminal defense lawyer. They got all my drunks who were placed on probation and I knew they would never make it. I sent them so much work I was invited to have lunch at the shelter every year and I know their dedication and sacrifice.

I think a gift of a quilt is a gift of love. We want to comfort and console and reach out. We can feel that when we gift a quilt. 20$ doesn't feel like it can do much and there's always the concern of how much will reach those in need.

I think this thread really gets to the heart of the whole charity/gift giving thing - is it about the giver or the recipient? I remember after Katrina, people wanted to send food, blankets, clothes, whatever, and the agencies involved just needed cash.
Someone else said in another thread, it takes a lot of work and manhours to sort non-cash donations and get them to the right people. In a giant disaster that is impractical.

Now on a smaller scale, if someone local lost their home, or whatever, a handmade quilt would be a nice donation, once they are set up in a new place.

I think some times the giver wants to give for their own reasons and does not think of the recipient. Like when the Marines or Sal. Army collects toys at Christmas, they ask for new toys. You always hear some (Grinch) asking, Well why can't I donate my kids' used toys?


edited to add - I get what people are saying about sending money and you don't know where it goes. CharityNavigator website is very good for finding out this info. And NEVER give to anyone who calls you on the phone. Only give to charities you are very familiar with.

Yep!! There were hundreds of wet molding stuffed critters on Caley Anthonys memorial spot,,and how many little ones have nothing.That makes me angry! It reminds me of the old story I heard about the man who put a new dress on his wifes grave.Someone next to him was putting flowers on a grave and made a remark to him that he was crazy, he replied"well,if they can smell those flowers,she can wear this dress"...

I want to add another story similar to this one. My daughter sent money to Feed the Children, about 10 years ago. She sent a bank check from the Credit Union where she was a member. About 5 years after sending the check some money showed up in her account that she didn't know where it came from. She asked me to go out and check, (I was on her account and she had moved) where the money came from, well the money was the check to Feed the Children redeposited into her account, they never cashed the check. I have often wondered WHY they never cashed the check. Maybe didn't know what it was being a bank check? Maybe was thrown out in the trash from someone not doing their job? Don't know! What do you think?

Most likely if it is a professional fund raiser asking for donations for a cause, that cause receives only a small portion of your gift.

I ask normally when I get a phone call request, if this is a profession org. and I then very often, hear the click of the receiver going down.

With a quilt, the charity gets all.......

It's hard to know where your dollars will end up. You brought up a really good topic.

Money to Salvation Army; food to local Food Bank; hand crafts to local shelters and assistance ministries.

Mostly I give $$ to our local food bank because I know they use the money the right way and I also know people around here are hungry.

first question to that request. why hand made quilts? store bought ready, had made is more expensive and two blankets could be purchased.. hand made for a disaster/emergeny makes zero sense.. we put lots of time and energy in hand made things.. do they sell them for more money? really good post.. had to put my thinking hat on.
Ell

That, AND I think people want to give from the heart, and give something that will last after the event to soften the blow of the ordeal during the post-event recovery period. While someone might be hungry or thirsty in the aftermath, they also want to old something to receive physical, emotional and psychological comfort.

I think the rationale is very similar to giving quilts to terminally ill or high risk newborns/babies/toddlers/kids - the parents have the quilt after the child crosses over to comfort them.

I am with you, it is so hard to understand, that people will put stuff like this where a tragedy took place, but never think about giving money or food to a food pantry, so a kid will not go hungry.

The lady in the next apt. to mine left a message on my door, that she was willing to make tamales in pork or chicken for the price of $13 dozen to help pay her brothers funeral expenses. I am vegetarian, so will donate $20 to help them. We should all help one another when we can.
IdahoSandy