Sorry for the lengthy post, but the information is important. I'm not trying to promote the local predominant denomination, but the following gave me pause: A good friend of mine is an emergency room doctor who has a special LDS "calling" responding to disaster situations for the LDS relief agency. Among the many emergencies to which he has responded, he was sent to Asia after the tsunami last December. I know he made at least two trips of two to three weeks each. After he returned the first time, I asked him about how best to make my own modest contribution, such as to which agency. His reply was very enlightening. He said that many agencies, even some of the better known agencies, are very inefficient and have high overheads, some as high as 40 percent or more; therefore, your donation dollar does not go very far. Furthermore, what actually arrives on site often is not needed or cannot be used ( parkas sent to Baghdad in summer, rice that cannot be cooked because of lack of water, that sort of thing) and that the waste is just incompetent. He told me that he used to resist donating to the LDS agency, but that after what he has seen time after time in the field, he has learned that the LDS Church consistently does a better job than anyone else. Where the LDS Church needs to coordinate with others, they often do so with other carefully selected agencies such as the Catholic Relief Agency and the American Red Cross. In other words, they don't just try to go it alone, either. With a low overhead of just four percent or so, It's hard to beat them. It's would be hard to do better. After that conversation, I determined to make all of my other donations for disaster relief through the LDS relief agencies. Kim
I thought the Church did an OK job as a relief organization myself though I ain't crazy about giving the Church clothing and such as it ends up at the DI for sale. That "parkas sent to Baghdad" comment got me thinking about the 1000 or so Gulf Coast refugees coming to Salt Lake City just in time for winter. Maybe now would be a good time for me to clean out my closets of ghosts and old coats that I no longer wear or need, and donate them to a local organization who will give the coats to people who need them rather than sell it to them. We regularly give blankets and beer cans to the local animal shelter, but who would be a good organization to give the coats and jackets to? Quoting Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net>:
Furthermore, what actually arrives on site often is not needed or cannot be used ( parkas sent to Baghdad...
I forgot to add that the LDS Church frequently coordinates with a number of other reputable world-wide organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, especially in areas where the LDS doesn't have the infrastructure as well established. Maybe they (CRS) would be a good choice for donating clothing? And, there's always Salvation Army. ----- Original Message ----- From: <diveboss@xmission.com> To: <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 6:43 AM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] OT - Hurricane relief |I thought the Church did an OK job as a relief organization myself though I | ain't crazy about giving the Church clothing and such as it ends up at the DI | for sale. That "parkas sent to Baghdad" comment got me thinking about the 1000 | or so Gulf Coast refugees coming to Salt Lake City just in time for winter. | Maybe now would be a good time for me to clean out my closets of ghosts and | old coats that I no longer wear or need, and donate them to a local | organization who will give the coats to people who need them rather than sell | it to them. We regularly give blankets and beer cans to the local animal | shelter, but who would be a good organization to give the coats and jackets | to? | | | | Quoting Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net>: | | | > Furthermore, what actually arrives on site often is not needed or | > cannot be used ( parkas sent to Baghdad... | | | | _______________________________________________ | Utah-Astronomy mailing list | Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com | http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy | Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com | | ______________________________________________________________________ | This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net | ______________________________________________________________________ | |
I will add my support to Kim and others who have stated that LDS relief and CRS do better than the other organizations. Two days ago, Jean Chatzky who is the editor of Money Magazine, said on the Today Show that 10% of money you give to most relief organizations actually get to the victims. She did say that giving money was more effective than giving stuff. I was living in Florida during Hurricane Andrew and I remember pictures of piles and piles of clothes, blankets, and boxes of ruined food sitting in mud and water. -A
Guy, you may want to consider Crossroads Urban Center, whose thrift store is located at 1385 West Indiana Ave.
From their web site: "Crossroads Thrift Store distributes donated clothing and household goods free of charge to low-income and homeless individuals and families though a referral system. Churches and social service agencies throughout the Salt Lake Valley write referrals sending people to the store. Crossroads has always felt that very low cost sales can be as big a help to many, as free distributions, so we have striven to keep prices among the lowest in the valley. In 2004 the Thrift Store gave away nearly nine times the amount that was sold. The Thrift Store is run primarily by volunteers." http://www.crossroads-u-c.org/
Furniture, kitchen items, underwear and bedding are always in short supply, along with warm clothing and socks. It is a volunteer organization supported by many of the local churches, including Zions. I agree with the earlier comments about the LDS church doing a good job, but if you would like to work outside that framework, you can't do better for a local organization, than Crossroads. Jo At 06:43 AM 9/1/2005 -0600, you wrote:
I thought the Church did an OK job as a relief organization myself though I ain't crazy about giving the Church clothing and such as it ends up at the DI for sale. That "parkas sent to Baghdad" comment got me thinking about the 1000 or so Gulf Coast refugees coming to Salt Lake City just in time for winter. Maybe now would be a good time for me to clean out my closets of ghosts and old coats that I no longer wear or need, and donate them to a local organization who will give the coats to people who need them rather than sell it to them. We regularly give blankets and beer cans to the local animal shelter, but who would be a good organization to give the coats and jackets to?
participants (4)
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Ann House -
diveboss＠xmission.com -
Josephine Grahn -
Kim Hyatt