oldguy Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 WITNESSING HOW HARD TIMES MUST BE OUT MY HOME OFFICE WINDOW Early this morning I watched this series of events take place right in front of my home After receiving a mailed flyer from a nonprofit organization that helps people with MS & other diseases that they were doing a collection drive & a truck would come around today to pick up donated items. Over a period 2 weeks, my wife gathered a bunch of nice usable clothing, coats, insulated coveralls, blankets, sleeping bags, small household appliances, small flat screen PC monitor, older model laptop & carry case, etc., that were unneeded excess to us. About 7AM this morning, before going to work, she hung the coats on hangers on our fence in front of our house, stacked bags of clothing, blankets, etc underneath the hanging garments & placed all the other things next to the bags. Then taped the brightly colored flyer in plain site on the fence to notify the charity organization they were for them. Then she left for work. From my home office window, I have a clear view of where the items are, but am not visible to anyone. Within 10 minutes, a man walking by tried on one of the coats & walked off with it. 5 minutes later a women walking by snatched the lap top & bag. A few minutes later a car circled the block, stopped & loaded up the monitor & most of the appliances & drove off. By 10 AM, when the truck arrived the only thing remaining were a few bags of clothing. It’s a sad day when people take donations clearly marked for a specific charity. But, they must have needed the items, so I did nothing to interfere.
layedbackkustomz Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 You have the right thing in mind. Theres alot of people in need during this time. The guy who needed a coat got one and maybe the lady needed the laptop for her children to study with.your a good man for letting everyone get a piece of the pie.as a reward you will get that perfect formula.
NightHawkInLight Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 Could be a sign of how tough things are, or at least that people are keeping their eyes open for ways to save money. Tell you what, I'm not doing too bad financially, but I still keep watch for stuff I need sitting out at the curb. I love driving around on trash day. Probably just be the redneck in me.
warthog Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 I would have gotten things if I needed them as well. I am not a rich man but I am not super poor either. Signs of the times? Maybe but this happened when I moved here to TH five years ago.I put a lot of stuff on the curb after my moving sale and didn't leave a sign on it or anything.It was all gone by the end of the day and some of that stuff I put out for the garbage man since it was really not worth having.Maybe they found that out later and maybe one man's garbage is another's treasure. Who knows? I tend to have a sale to liquidate everything then I send the money raised to the local homeless shelter.Who knows, maybe one day I will wind up there myself?
Potassiumchlorate Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 America is a great country in many respects, but not if you are poor. Though times are slowly getting worse in Europe too, it seems.
dagabu Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 I dont donate to the curbside charities anymore. I welded containers for clothing pick up and such but quit when I found out that 99% of the clothing is bundled for rags and the good stuff is sold off. About 12-20% of the money goes to the charities and the rest go to line the pockets of the collection boxes. I now bring my stuff directly to our local food shelf (yes, clothes are given away too) and to the place my son with Aspergers worked, Goodwill. -dag
NightHawkInLight Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 America is a great country in many respects, but not if you are poor. Though times are slowly getting worse in Europe too, it seems. I've been in third world countries on three continents, and let me tell you, the poor people in the US are rich in comparison. If you don't have money for food in Mongolia or Honduras, you steal it or die. Period. No free meals on the weekends unless you're lucky enough for a mission to be nearby, and certainly no welfare program. I don't think that's a good thing mind you, just something to keep in mind.
nater Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) Then there are people like this woman, who cheat people with a good heart during these times. Hopefully the people she robbed don't feel too burned and continue to support charities. Edited March 24, 2012 by nater
warthog Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 I was going to say the same thing NHiL said, I too have seen the poor, really poor on mission trips in college and during two stints in the Peace Corps. Africa is one of the places that will stay in my nightmares forever. I wish I could do more so I do all I can. Same for those who are here and homeless. I don't give to churches nor to many mainline charities as they have overhead to pay. I prefer to give to places where at least 95% or more of each dollar goes to the people needing help. That is why I give directly to my local shelter FIRST, then take the rest to, it is Goodwill BTW, not the Salvation Army. I checked. Made a mistake earlier. I think the poor here have it pretty darn good compared to a lot of places. Many of the folks on food stamps eat a much better quality of food stuffs than I can afford to buy.
allrocketspsl Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 WITNESSING HOW HARD TIMES MUST BE OUT MY HOME OFFICE WINDOW Early this morning I watched this series of events take place right in front of my home After receiving a mailed flyer from a nonprofit organization that helps people with MS & other diseases that they were doing a collection drive & a truck would come around today to pick up donated items. Over a period 2 weeks, my wife gathered a bunch of nice usable clothing, coats, insulated coveralls, blankets, sleeping bags, small household appliances, small flat screen PC monitor, older model laptop & carry case, etc., that were unneeded excess to us. About 7AM this morning, before going to work, she hung the coats on hangers on our fence in front of our house, stacked bags of clothing, blankets, etc underneath the hanging garments & placed all the other things next to the bags. Then taped the brightly colored flyer in plain site on the fence to notify the charity organization they were for them. Then she left for work. From my home office window, I have a clear view of where the items are, but am not visible to anyone. Within 10 minutes, a man walking by tried on one of the coats & walked off with it. 5 minutes later a women walking by snatched the lap top & bag. A few minutes later a car circled the block, stopped & loaded up the monitor & most of the appliances & drove off. By 10 AM, when the truck arrived the only thing remaining were a few bags of clothing. It's a sad day when people take donations clearly marked for a specific charity. But, they must have needed the items, so I did nothing to interfere. wait till things really get bad,I already have perimeter locations and a stradegy for when the shit hits the fan.Smoke grenades(homemade of course),tiltable motars(mines filled with...), ballons filled with choice of flamables,shrot range rockets.We are q three week society the experts say.Two ports close and in three weeks no food then it begins.All in all it doesnt surprise me OG
JFeve81 Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) I think the poor here have it pretty darn good compared to a lot of places. Many of the folks on food stamps eat a much better quality of food stuffs than I can afford to buy. I will agree on this. I'm barely scraping by on the bottom of the food barrel but it's paid with money I worked for. Plus alot of people abuse food stamps and other government funded deals. Allthough alot of people ligetely need it to survive as well. Edited March 24, 2012 by JFeve81
jimbo Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 yes I don't donate to charities because of the amount they spend on administration,but I have no problems giving a few bucks to strangers who must be that desperate to ask,this is helping someone directly,I don't donate to rspca because of the amount of dogs they euthanize for supposed aggressiveness,I have an adopted dog now they were going to put her down after she was blown of the back of a ute in a cage and mangled her paws,she's had a hard life but now she's an inside dog living it up.
dan999ification Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 I dont donate to the curbside charities anymore. I welded containers for clothing pick up and such but quit when I found out that 99% of the clothing is bundled for rags and the good stuff is sold off. About 12-20% of the money goes to the charities and the rest go to line the pockets of the collection boxes. -dag same here too they sell most as rags for £200-£400 per tonne and donate around £50 per tonne we even had a collection for armed forces charities, wrong how so called charities work. dan.
oldguy Posted March 24, 2012 Author Posted March 24, 2012 Personally, I didn’t think setting donated items on a sidewalk was a good idea. But, it was the wife’s Gig, so be it. Taking food & clothing straight to a food bank sort of place is a much better way to go & what we most often do. Through affiliation with a local community group, at my own expense one weekend a month, I cook about 40 or 50 complete stick to your ribs sort of meals that get directly delivered to the homes of very low income elderly that can’t get out & around. At least there, I know that food goes straight into the hands of the needy because I also help with the delivery. Another thing that amazes me is how unprepared many middle income families are for emergency type circumstance, severe harsh weather conditions, power outages and the like. A few years ago we had heavy snow, freezing weather, then a silver thaw that took down a lot of local power lines, then more snow & freezing weather. I was near stupefied by how unprepared most of my neighbors were for events like that.
warthog Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 (edited) I give direct to street folks too, plus I give the a handout I made with directions to the shelter. If they use it for drugs, cigarettes or booze, that's on them. God knows my heart when I gave to them and that is good enough for me. I also was amazed by unpreparedness of many. Three years ago, remember the horrible floods in the MidWest? Ohio got the bulk of the media coverage but I personally was hit badly as well. I wound up helping my neighbors with things like water and food for a week until the relief finally got around to us. No one reimbursed me either BTW when it was time to restock, in fact I was told to get screwed when I asked. I'd do it again too even knowing I wouldn't get anything back from folks doing much better than I am. It was an emergency, I could help so I did. It amazed me that only one other family had anything ready for an emergency and they weren't willing to help a soul. The reason I said "too funny" though was what was said as being prepared. If you think that would hold off a group of desperate, hungry parents who probably remembered one things for preparedness, gun s and ammo, then you are mistaken. A .308 outranges your mortars all day long. Edited March 24, 2012 by warthog
nater Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 The panhandlers on the street might be making more money than you are, and need it less. It disgusts me when I see people begging in a shopping center where a dozen businesses have help wanted signs. Sure it may be low wage, part time work, but at least it is an honset job. http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/The_True_Payout_to_Panhandling_135921968.html read all 3 parts. I am more comfortable giving to the food bank than large charities or people on the street.
warthog Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 Well, there aren't many Help Wanted signs here in Terre Haute, even in the Fast Food shops.I might not give if they were standing in front of such a sign either. Like I say, my intentions are pure when I give to those I give to and I don't give to each and every street person who asks, for example when some schmuck rolls up and yells, "Gimme some money sucker!" (yes, this has happened more than a few times to me), I usually look them in the eye and say, "Make me!" and put my hand unthreateningly upon the grip of my concealed, licensed handgun. At that time they look for someone else.
allrocketspsl Posted March 25, 2012 Posted March 25, 2012 Personally, I didn't think setting donated items on a sidewalk was a good idea. But, it was the wife's Gig, so be it. Taking food & clothing straight to a food bank sort of place is a much better way to go & what we most often do. Through affiliation with a local community group, at my own expense one weekend a month, I cook about 40 or 50 complete stick to your ribs sort of meals that get directly delivered to the homes of very low income elderly that can't get out & around. At least there, I know that food goes straight into the hands of the needy because I also help with the delivery. Another thing that amazes me is how unprepared many middle income families are for emergency type circumstance, severe harsh weather conditions, power outages and the like. A few years ago we had heavy snow, freezing weather, then a silver thaw that took down a lot of local power lines, then more snow & freezing weather. I was near stupefied by how unprepared most of my neighbors were for events like that. Im part time at a Lowe's so I will second that.People are plain dumb when it comes to how to prepare.The yankees that come from the north havent a clue what hurricane is or how to prepare.When caos sets in they will be easy targets for the roaming bands of predators,to bad!!They just dont know Im part time at a Lowe's so I will second that.People are plain dumb when it comes to how to prepare.The yankees that come from the north havent a clue what hurricane is or how to prepare.When chaos sets in they will be easy targets for the roaming bands of predators,to bad!!They just dont know
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