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[CERT-LA Forum]

 CERT-LA Forum » General Category » FAQ
 After a disaster, why do responding charities request only cash donations?

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[Administrator]

For the answer, we turned to the American Red Cross donations site, and this is their recommendation:

"The Red Cross is unable to accept small, individual donations or collections of items such as clothing, food or cleaning supplies. The cost to sort, package and distribute these types of donations to a disaster victims is almost always greater than the cost of purchasing the items locally, and it is logistically impossible to distribute a wide variety of individual items in a meaningful way. Because of these cost and logistical concerns, we recommend that you support your community by donating these items to an organization that is equipped to put them to the best possible local use."

[mycrofft]

When the Christmas tsunami struck, Sri Lanka, after receiving literally tons of "aid in kind" (mainly clothing, bedding, and miscellaneous stuff), ended up burning a great deal of it on the beach where it had been dropped for lack of logistics handling, and the sheer inappropriateness of many items such as woolen clothing. Money give organizations much greater flexibility to assess what's needed, get it there, and hande it once it is there.