"Quality" or "Direct"

We  changed the brand statement of GIVIT for the new national launch (coming soon!!) from GIVIT "Quality Giving Network" to "Direct Giving Network"  to emphasise the one to one aspect of our portal BUT some events during the flood crises have caused me to have  a moment of remorse about this change.

I am hearing reports that some of the flood donations being made are really of very poor quality - a few examples:

• Two bags of clothes posted  to Brisbane from Sydney (at some cost I would think) had to be thrown out due to stains and bad wear and tear (but they has been washed and ironed at least)
• Vacuums without the nozzles  (and out of date machine- so no spare parts readily available)
• Used underwear and pillows  (those readers who have read how I came to start GIVIT will know how I feel about underwear  donations )
• Unsafe or just plain filfthy items

No one, no matter how desperate, should be expected to happily accept used underwear, and who really needs a pillowcase you can actually see through ?   Some people aren't donating, they are dumping!  Arrggh.
It also means lots of wasted time and effort on the behalf of charities and volunteers who have to sort thru this stuff.

We think quality donations means items you would happily give your family , best friends and loved ones. How do you think quality donations should be defined ?  Should I be changing the wording from direct back to quality ? Let me know what you think.

I am going to address this in the  wording on the new website today and get a bit strict with our donators in 2011 !

JW

More surprises!

Well I did not expect this!!  The Premier and the Red Cross are channeling all item donations through GIVIT.  I wish I had enough time this last week to blog - as it has been frantic, fascinating and sad.

Queensland is devastated.  There is no doubt about that.  People are donating cash but when they see the stories about what people have left (nothing) they want to give all they can.  I know that feeling.  People have given all they have to donate in response to this disaster.  Young mothers, refugees and many people who have nothing themselves are giving valuable items and money.

As I want to make giving a targeting direct event I have noticed some issues.  People from all over Australia have been collecting goods for our Queensland victims, but have not had any method of delivering these items and presume there is drop off points in every city in Australia.. there is not.  They are collecting clothes mostly, and it is something that we have far too much of now. 

Some surprises include the amount of PR companies that are calling me on "behalf of their clients" who want to know the situation.  "The situation" is a good question because it is different for every suburb and every street.  Some people are still in flood waters,some are going to relief centres, some don't have any clothes, some need cleaning equipment, some need electricity, some need a builder so they can lock their homes and then some need a new fridge or bed.  It really depends on the area, the weather and the amount of volunteers in the area. 

I have worked the hardest in my life to ensure the urgent items are getting to where they need to go outside of Brisbane and I have had Therese working in Brisbane to ensure the relief centres know we exist.  It is hard to cover all camps, but we are only set up to help Brisbane and so all of my work has to be manually done.

Our new website is due out in a week.  THANK GOD! We will do what we are doing very effectively! 
My next issue is delivery.  How are we going to get these items without a van?  I think it is time for GIVIT to get one.. but I always just wanted to be a portal!!!!

Flooded with donations

I am finding it difficult to get in contact with community leaders in the flooded areas.  I have found one.. ONE!   The campaign was successful - getting what we required for Bundaberg in 24 hours!  Again.. surprised.

I have decided to empower one gorgeous volunteer as a requester (a charity).  She has told us that head-lice is a  very big problem up north right now.  One of our frequent donators said that Frontline knocks them dead - and is very cheap.. don't think I will be asking for that though!

Did I mention that givers in Brisbane are phenomenal.  One of our volunteers got three items off the list (bought by her husband) for Christmas.  Items on the GIVIT List are Christmas presents.  How cool is that!

These floods are so devastating I feel that this will be my focus for the next 6 months.