Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what's frustrating, when your donations are considered not good enough. Since when are old clothes and sweaters not considered good enough. Does everything donated have to be brand new?

I've been blessed with donations in a time of need and receiving a pair of pants with a tag still on it was wonderful. It was like a boost of encouragement and self-esteem when I was down. Now, it was really humiliating to get a stretched out sweater with pills on the armpits. It was a message that I was not worth or good enough.

People in need do know the difference between something still in good condition and rags that you would never wear.

Only in america are we so spoiled that this isn't good enough.

This was not in America, sweet pea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what's frustrating, when your donations are considered not good enough. Since when are old clothes and sweaters not considered good enough. Does everything donated have to be brand new?

I've been blessed with donations in a time of need and receiving a pair of pants with a tag still on it was wonderful. It was like a boost of encouragement and self-esteem when I was down. Now, it was really humiliating to get a stretched out sweater with pills on the armpits. It was a message that I was not worth or good enough.

People in need do know the difference between something still in good condition and rags that you would never wear.

Only in america are we so spoiled that this isn't good enough.

Only in America? You've obviously not traveled much...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what's frustrating, when your donations are considered not good enough. Since when are old clothes and sweaters not considered good enough. Does everything donated have to be brand new?

I've been blessed with donations in a time of need and receiving a pair of pants with a tag still on it was wonderful. It was like a boost of encouragement and self-esteem when I was down. Now, it was really humiliating to get a stretched out sweater with pills on the armpits. It was a message that I was not worth or good enough.

People in need do know the difference between something still in good condition and rags that you would never wear.

Only in america are we so spoiled that this isn't good enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between throwing something perfectly useable in the trash or donating it, I would definitely donate. I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase stuff for donation that I think is unhealthy crap, but honestly I think others would be perfectly happy to have the gerber baby food I recently donated to a food drive, which had been given to me and I wasn't going to use.

I'm making a gift basket for a needy family at the NICU that took care of my daughter. I'm planning to do mainstream items, in part because I don't think any of the moms I met there would want weleda products, organic gender neutral clothes, or handmade toys from etsy., so it's going to be pink clothes from carters, plastic toys, and disposable diapers.

OP here. That's exactly what I was thinking...

Nice to know you're such a kind and caring person.

Seriously, are you in high school? Or do you have tons of money to give to charity?
Personally, I don't know what weleda products are and I would not want anything from etsy. I'd rather have carters clothes, plastic toys, and disposable diapers than fringe stuff.

I agree with the PP, between throwing something perfectly useable in the trash or donating it, I would definitely donate. And when I buy things to donate them, I buy mainstream items.

Anonymous wrote:You know what's frustrating, when your donations are considered not good enough. Since when are old clothes and sweaters not considered good enough. Does everything donated have to be brand new?

I've been blessed with donations in a time of need and receiving a pair of pants with a tag still on it was wonderful. It was like a boost of encouragement and self-esteem when I was down. Now, it was really humiliating to get a stretched out sweater with pills on the armpits. It was a message that I was not worth or good enough.

People in need do know the difference between something still in good condition and rags that you would never wear.

You know what's frustrating, when your donations are considered not good enough. Since when are old clothes and sweaters not considered good enough. Does everything donated have to be brand new?

I tend to buy lower quality stuff because I can get more for my money. We purchased gifts off a wish list for a needy family. We wanted to buy as much on the wish list as possible so we bought, for example, a cheap winter coat from Target. Had I purchased the same Patagonia coat I bought my son, that would have drastically cut down on other items we could buy. Same with food, if I am buying extra at the grocery store to participate in a food drive, I don't buy organic and I often buy store brand. But really, I think they are probably better off with more quantity, no?

I donate what I buy.

PP here

And I know its possible that a NICU mom would get a box full of organic stuff and just be so happy to have nice healthy stuff she couldn't buy otherwise. If I knew that was the case, I would spend the extra money, but it's pretty unlikely, so I'd rather give stuff that will likely get used.

Anonymous wrote:Between throwing something perfectly useable in the trash or donating it, I would definitely donate. I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase stuff for donation that I think is unhealthy crap, but honestly I think others would be perfectly happy to have the gerber baby food I recently donated to a food drive, which had been given to me and I wasn't going to use.

I'm making a gift basket for a needy family at the NICU that took care of my daughter. I'm planning to do mainstream items, in part because I don't think any of the moms I met there would want weleda products, organic gender neutral clothes, or handmade toys from etsy., so it's going to be pink clothes from carters, plastic toys, and disposable diapers.

OP here. That's exactly what I was thinking...

A mix.

I donate a lot of food to Manna Food Center for their smart sacks program -- food for kids to take home from school over the weekend. They ask for stuff like mac and cheese, peanut butter, cereal and granola bars. Those types of prepackaged foods have so much junk in them -- extra sugar and additives -- so I do try to buy more natural or organic versions of these types of things.

If I received something I wouldn't use and it is something that can be donated, I'm going to donate it. It's better to be used somewhere than to be thrown out.

But if I'm buying coats or other clothing for charity, I will buy something from Target or Children's Place and not from LL Bean, for example, which is where I get my son's coats.

Between throwing something perfectly useable in the trash or donating it, I would definitely donate. I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase stuff for donation that I think is unhealthy crap, but honestly I think others would be perfectly happy to have the gerber baby food I recently donated to a food drive, which had been given to me and I wasn't going to use.

I'm making a gift basket for a needy family at the NICU that took care of my daughter. I'm planning to do mainstream items, in part because I don't think any of the moms I met there would want weleda products, organic gender neutral clothes, or handmade toys from etsy., so it's going to be pink clothes from carters, plastic toys, and disposable diapers.

I donate the same items that I use at home. In fact I rarely buy anything just to donate it.

I buy and donate what I know is good and useful. If I wouldn't use it, I don't donate it.

That often includes store brands and even non-organic items because not everything we eat/use is organic.

After reading a thread on Expectant Moms suggesting OP to donate J&J stuff because they only use organic I started thinking...

You don't want to rub carcinogens on your kiddo's scalp but it's OK for the low income kid to have it on his/her scalp?

I grew up volunteering in my local community and in my house we always donated exactly the same stuff we ate. The same brand and size. And this is not what I saw often on the shelves there.

My question for you is: When (if) you buy things to donate, do you buy the same high quality you buy for your family or you buy the cheapest available?