STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kealoha · Kate Spade

Tsunami Donations

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

Donate through the American or INternational red crosses. Also, lots of stores are letting you donate directly to these organizations. I saw something at Costco yesterday

Lola · Dooney & Bourke

Monetary donations are the best way to help right now. Here is a statement on this:

-->In a letter to the American Red Cross received after Hurricane Mitch struck

Central America, a U.S. government official stated, "These (small in-kind) donations

create an extremely negative reaction, rarely are useful, and waste valuable resources

in transportation and handling. On that point, we wish to congratulate the American Red

Cross for its responsible position of resisting the receipt and delivery of donated

clothing, food and medicine. As we have discussed many times, these items cause

many more problems than they solve, especially in the country of origin, and then in the

victimized country."

mckenke · BCBG

I have to agree with Lola. In-kind donations unless we are talking in the extremely large quantities cost more to ship and are usually subject to custom fees that make the donated items cost more than if they were purchased new in the country or in surrounding countries. Also, when aid organizations are able to purchase supplies locally it helps the local economy get back on its feet and empowers the very people you are trying to help.