The worst moments
often bring out the best in people. Disasters such as
hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes often ignite an outpouring
of generosity from individuals and communities who are moved
to assist those whose lives have been affected. The images of
devastation prompt many to respond by donating goods for the
victims. Donations of goods and services, also known as
in-kind donations, can be valuable resources on a relief
effort. However, misguided in-kind donations can also have the
effect of hampering the relief effort if inappropriate or
excessive contributions arriving at the disaster site impede
the distribution of priority items. To prevent such a
situation, the American Red Cross is very careful about the
types of in-kind donations it accepts. The information
provided here is intended to provide you with some background
on how in-kind donations fit into Red Cross disaster relief
activities, and information about the most effective ways to
help when disaster strikes. An important first step when
thinking about donating goods to any relief agency is to
determine what their policies are on in-kind donations, and
ascertain whether they have a need, or the means, to accept
your donation.
MONEY MATTERS
Financial donations to the
Red Cross are the best way to assist victims of disaster.
Monetary contributions enable the Red Cross to purchase the
most urgently needed items as close to the disaster site as
possible. Purchasing near the disaster site ensures supplies
get to victims as quickly as possible, without delays and
hefty transportation costs. Because communities hit by
disasters generally experience significant economic loss,
buying goods locally also helps to stimulate the weakened
economy by pumping money back into area businesses.
Donate
Now
COLLECTIONS OF
GOODS AND INDIVIDUAL ITEMS
Unsolicited, spontaneous
donations of goods and services from individuals and community
groups, though well intentioned, have hidden costs and pose a
number of complications for relief efforts. For these reasons,
the Red Cross is unable to accept any large collections of
items, such as used clothing, hygiene items, furniture, toys,
and canned goods. Nor are we able to accept small, individual
donations of these items.
Why does the Red Cross
discourage donations of collected goods and individual items
for disaster relief?
- Collections of items require
valuable and scarce resources such as time, money, and
personnel to sort, clean, and distribute them, which come
at the expense of the emergency activities relief workers
are attempting to perform. The Red Cross has neither the
resources, nor the logistical set-up, to properly handle
these types of donations, and therefore cannot accept
them.
- In addition, because we have
no way of knowing what spontaneous individual donations or
unsolicited collections of items will consist of, we
cannot ensure there will be enough of a particular item to
distribute it equitably, or if the donated products will
even be appropriate for the relief effort.
- Shipping donated goods is
also costly and particularly difficult in the aftermath of
a disaster, as inroads into disaster sites are often
damaged or impassable, and easily clogged with shipments
of non-priority items. The Red Cross makes every attempt
to procure items locally to save money by minimizing
transportation and storage costs. Local procurement also
ensures that the items distributed to disaster victims are
appropriate for their culture and diet.
Where can donations of
collected goods and individual items be most effective?
Individual donations of goods and collections of items are put
to their best possible use, and have the greatest impact
economically, when they are donated to local charitable
organizations within your own community. Donating locally
eliminates transportation costs and ensures disaster workers
are not overwhelmed with sorting unsolicited donations and are
free to perform priority relief activities. Because these
local agencies are not operating in the crisis environment
that characterizes disaster relief, the charity will have the
time sort, clean, and repair goods and identify how and where
they can be most beneficial.
BULK DONATIONS
OF PRODUCT FROM MANUFACTURERS OR DISTRIBUTORS
The Red Cross will sometimes
accept bulk donations of products that are immediately needed
on an ongoing disaster relief operation. "Bulk
donations" refers to large donations of a single product.
Because the quantities required on relief operations are
significant, these donations are typically provided by
companies that manufacture or distribute the product needed,
and have the resources to ship it directly to the disaster
site. If your company has a large bulk donation that you
think would be appropriate for Red Cross relief efforts,
please contact your local Red Cross chapter.
MEDICAL
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES
The Red Cross may accept
donations of medical equipment or supplies if the product
meets a need of a Red Cross relief operation or program. The
Red Cross follows guidelines established by the World Health
Organization. All donated medications must be at least
one-year away from their expiration date. Medications that
have been issued to patients but that have not been used, and
free samples provided to health care professionals, cannot be
accepted for donation as their quality cannot be guaranteed.
In addition, returned drugs are very difficult to manage at
the receiving end because of packaging issues and the small
quantities involved. If you are a company interested in making
a bulk donation of medical supplies or equipment, please
contact your local Red Cross chapter.
ADDITIONAL
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT IN-KIND DONATIONS
Guidelines for Effective
Giving in Support of Disaster Relief
Before beginning any sort of collection drive, it is important
to first call a charitable agency and confirm that there is a
need for the donation and that they are able to accept it.
Several organizations active in disaster relief have published
guidelines that offer practical advice on steps that should be
taken prior to starting a collection drive or purchasing items
to donate to disaster relief.
When Disaster Strikes…
Donations Are Needed
http://www.fema.gov/r-n-r/help2.htm
Guide to Appropriate Giving
Making Donations to Help Disaster Victims Overseas
http://www.interaction.org/disaster/guide.html
Guidelines for Effective
Private Sector International Disaster Assistance
http://www.cidi.org/donate.htm
Information About Other
Organizations Involved in Disaster Relief
National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster
www.nvoad.org
InterAction
www.interaction.org
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
www.fema.gov
Guidelines for Donating
Medical Supplies and Equipment
www.drugdonations.org
For more information, please contact
us directly at (239) 278-3401.
|
