<story><title>Goodwill doesn&apos;t want broken toasters</title><url>https://www.npr.org/2021/05/06/993821945/goodwill-doesnt-want-your-broken-toaster</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>supernova87a</author><text>This phenomenon also happens when people think that their physical goods donations (usually mailed&amp;#x2F;shipped) to distant places after natural disasters = helping.&lt;p&gt;Often in fact, it&amp;#x27;s called the 2nd disaster -- the flood of useless, disorganized junk that people send, thinking they&amp;#x27;re helping but actually adding work to the system.  Dirty blankets, old shoes, random toys.&lt;p&gt;Charities&amp;#x2F;NGOs really don&amp;#x27;t want your disorganized stuff.  They need $.  Money.  Funds that they can just spend on buying exactly what they need, in bulk, that can be distributed in an organized way.&lt;p&gt;Hard to get random people to understand that, or prefer to give money over sentimental junk.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ralph84</author><text>In general they also don&amp;#x27;t need your sporadic untrained volunteer time either. The volunteering events that HR departments love to organize where employees earning six figures spend hours on make work always strike me as an incredibly inefficient way to actually help people in need.</text></comment>
<story><title>Goodwill doesn&apos;t want broken toasters</title><url>https://www.npr.org/2021/05/06/993821945/goodwill-doesnt-want-your-broken-toaster</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>supernova87a</author><text>This phenomenon also happens when people think that their physical goods donations (usually mailed&amp;#x2F;shipped) to distant places after natural disasters = helping.&lt;p&gt;Often in fact, it&amp;#x27;s called the 2nd disaster -- the flood of useless, disorganized junk that people send, thinking they&amp;#x27;re helping but actually adding work to the system.  Dirty blankets, old shoes, random toys.&lt;p&gt;Charities&amp;#x2F;NGOs really don&amp;#x27;t want your disorganized stuff.  They need $.  Money.  Funds that they can just spend on buying exactly what they need, in bulk, that can be distributed in an organized way.&lt;p&gt;Hard to get random people to understand that, or prefer to give money over sentimental junk.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mensetmanusman</author><text>This would be a great scene in a dystopian star warsesque universe.&lt;p&gt;Planet is bombed, human suffering, etc. Then, because of light speed travel, minutes later broken lamps and broken toasters fall from run down ’good will’ ships that finish off the planet.</text></comment>