Donate Locally

Date: 6/15/2009

I am the Executive Director of the Community Survival Center at 240 Main St. in Indian Orchard. We are a local non-profit agency who assisted almost 50,000 individuals in the last 12 months with basic survival needs, food, clothing and necessary household items. The need is growing, but our ability to fulfill that need is being seriously compromised.

Each morning as I drive to work I see boxes set up to receive donations in parking lots everywhere. Did you ever wonder where these donations are going? There's 800 numbers to call for tax receipts. How local can they be? There's out of state commercial recycling companies behind a number of these boxes. There's names of various groups that appear on these boxes or in several mailings that promise curb pick-up. These groups do not receive the donations, instead they receive gratuity from the FOR profit owners of the boxes for the use of their name. All this is done in an effort to solicit more donations from the community.

If you don't care who gets the items that you are dropping off then by all means use whatever box is handy. But, if you want your donation to benefit your neighbors please take that extra step and visit the local non-profit agency in person. Their assistance and their gratitude will make the extra effort well worth your time. The Community Survival Center is open Monday through Friday to receive donations and the box in our parking lot is emptied daily and is strictly for the benefit of our clients. Charity begins at home and so should donating.

Chris Cargile

Executive Director

The Community Survival Center