Announcing Our Amazing 2018 Stuff-A-Way! [closed]

Question

Mar 5 UPDATE: This order is proving a bit more laborious to expedite than our vendor had originally anticipated, so these boxes haven't been shipped out yet. Anyone who filled in a form should receive an email with tracking information as soon as their box is shipped. Anyone who didn't catch the email on time, please see this other post.

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Jan 30 UPDATE: JNat just sent out emails to collect addresses — be on the lookout for those, and try to fill it in the next two weeks! :)

Did you receive any gifts that you'd appreciate a lot more if they were actually something that you could use, or even wanted? Do you still have some from the last few years? Don't feel bad, we've got you. Curious? Read on.

If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you've got, well, stuff. We've got stuff too, in fact, we have so much stuff that we really need to make room to order new stuff. And in order to do that, we need to give it away.

But we feel kinda bad about giving people that have an abundance of stuff even more stuff when there are so many folks out there that really need stuff, especially in colder climates right now. Our branded flashlights, keychains, stickers, mugs, mouse pads, aprons, and things of that sort are super cool, but they aren't things that charities can use directly without burning additional overhead.

That's where the stuff-a-way idea comes in. Here's how it works:

1. You give stuff that you don't need to people that need it. That could mean dropping off some stuff to a charity, food bank, making a donation to a non-profit that can help people (if money is the thing you have too much of), handing a blanket and a cup of coffee to a homeless person, or whatever makes someone's life better than it was before you did your thing.
2. You write an answer to this question and let us know that you did something and tell us about your random act of kindness. You can share as much or as little as you'd like; we're going to take your word for it. In your answer, tell us what sites in our network you like the most (we'll go by where you participate if you don't).
3. We will send you a shoebox full of swag that you'll be sure to like. See what we did there? Everyone wins because:
   1. Those in need get stuff they can use immediately (things like mouse pads, aprons, pens, stickers, notebooks, and keychains aren't on that list, we're sure).
   2. You get rid of stuff you don't need. We empty our warehouse for the most part to make room for all new stuff. Your sweat equity is getting out to do something nice, our's is handling all the shipping of the goodies.
   3. You get stuff you want, in the form of a loot-box style package from us.

If you'd rather not receive anything, just say so. This event is structured so that we make sure giving is all about what the recipients actually need and the warm feelings from it come secondary (which is why we don't just bulk-donate thousands of dollars worth of stuff); beyond that, we're cool with whatever terms you like.

The rules

1. Any user of MSE in good standing is eligible, including employees, but only one entry per person is allowed. Likewise, prizes are limited to one per participant.

2. You must ensure that your email address associated with your account is current and verified by our system to receive your box. Not hearing back from folks is a big problem for this kind of event, so make sure the email associated with your account works, and is one that you check at least semi-frequently.

3. To participate, you must make some kind of needed donation to a person or charitable organization in need of what you have. Canned food for a food bank? Good. Old laptops for any educational purpose? Good. A bag of fast food for a homeless person? Good. We trust that you will do good things and not require adult supervision, please prove us correct there. Also, homeless shelters need socks, sanitary pads, diapers, etc - a little research in your area can go a long way.

4. Sweat equity is accepted as a donation (in which you go volunteer your time somewhere that meets the spirit of this event). Again, we trust that you'll make us proud of you.

5. This event will remain open until it's very likely that we're just about out of stuff to send. That could be a month, a week, or whatever. It's hard to say with these types of events.

6. Oh yes, the prizes! Boxes will include multiple things consisting of pens, sharpies, stickers, drink holders, aprons, battery packs, flashlights, mugs, mouse pads, staplers and other office supplies, games, shirts, hats and other items branded Stack Overflow or after other Stack Exchange websites. Some items will also include rarer prizes like hoodies, other branded outerwear and bags, books, and other surprise items.

7. While we'll ask for your preferences, we can't guarantee what's going to be in any given box. It's a mystery, but it will be cool stuff!

8. Our code of conduct applies to any and all activity related to this event.

Now, head to those closets, attics, or those boxes that might be under a pile of more appreciated gifts and help everyone get something that they want and need at the end of the holiday season this year.

While we hope to be able to do this again in the future, it'll depend on what we've got laying around. If any of our customers signal that they want to throw in some stuff to sweeten the communal pot luck, we'll update the post (I honestly haven't talked to anyone about this yet, kinda winging it, so check back occasionally for updates).

Commence the stuff-a-way! And, enjoy being good to your fellow living creatures that could use a little help right now.

Thank you, everyone!

The stories you've shared are full of great examples that we hope will inspire others to adopt new and creative ways of giving to those that need some help. From reminding all of us that donating blood can literally save lives, to ideas surrounding creative kits that contain essential supplies and some gift cards, you've given lots of folks great ideas and been an inspiration. This was an experiment, and because of you, it was a resounding success!

We'll be reaching out soon (really, allow the full 6 to 8 weeks here as this is a huge effort) and getting everyone that wants one their boxes of goodies. We'll very likely do something similar to this as part of Stack Exchange Gives Back next year, so stay tuned, and thanks again to everyone that participated!

Answer 1

Last year around this time my grandfather passed away suffering from leukaemia and one of the members of an online community I participate in has been diagnosed with blood cancer as well. So the one thing I did was donate 50€ to https://www.dkms.de/de and registered as a stem cell donor.

Cancer is a backstabbing piece of garbage and nobody deserves to suffer from it.

^{My favorite is Stackoverflow.}

Answer 2

I would like to say, this event is amazing, encouraging people to help others and raise awareness.

Every year myself and my wife (and now my child) will pack multiple shoe boxes for the christmas shoe box appeal (Operation Christmas Child).

We have been doing this probably around 5 years in a row now without fail, This year we were able to pack around 10 boxes to send them off!

We also give regularly to our local food bank at our local grocery store, usually tinned food. Just go in to buy our usual shop and add in a few extra tinned goods, it doesn't cost a lot and I know that some family really struggle and would appreciate this. I always try to think, if myself and my family were in a bad position, I hope there would be people willing to help us. At the end of the day we are the same species.

Answer 3

My wife and I cleaned out our closet of all items that we hadn't worn lately, and donated them to a local charity!

We also regularly give to several charitable organizations:

• World Vision
• Make Way Partners
• LifeWater
• Children Without Worms
• NetsforLife
• Food for the Hungry

My favorite SE site: StackOverflow

Answer 4

We (fiance and I) ran two school supply drives this year for the local Family Services. They are underfunded (they all are) and the children involved have been removed from dangerous, abusive, or neglected situations, so they generally don't have anyone. So, to help give them some normalcy in some part of their lives, we ran supply drives at both our workplaces. Backpacks, pencils, calculators, tissues, etc.

The school supply drives are surprising because you think (atleast I did) that they only need them in the fall when children are going back to school, but the sad fact is that children are being removed from their homes throughout the year, so there is no bad time to run these for you local child protective services.

Also, they ran a Christmas drive for the children that was directly beneficial to the children and very convenient as they provided an Amazon wish list and you could have the items directly shipped to the agency.

I thought this would be a good way to help bring awareness to this community of something simple and directly helpful to do at your workplaces for the local community.

My favorite SE sites are https://diy.stackexchange.com/ and SO

Answer 5

What: Platelets donation

To whom: ex-coworker diagnosed with leukemia

How: It takes about 3h , blood is drawn from one arm then the platelets are extracted using a machine, and the remaining blood components are returned to you through the other arm.

Why: Not everybody can donate to anyone, it demands compatibility. He needed 10 people and was looking urgently for donors. I was (and in fact I still am...) terrified of blood donation, but then when you stop to think, your agony is nothing compared to the good it can do to others.

Consequences:

• Since my blood (O-) is "universal donor" I decided to become a regular donor.
• Also, I became a bone marrow donor (and everyone should, you just register yourself as available for donation, and if ever someone is compatible with you [odds are 1 in 10.000] you can save a life).

To be honest, I am neglecting my blood donation, I am taking way more time between each donation, but since this post reminded me of how simple can be to help others, I scheduled donation this saturday. ;)

^{Following @avazula's idea, I also free handly covered sensitive information}

Answer 6

My Grandmother called me out of the blue to ask if I could give her a few hundred dollars (which is a big, big deal for my family.) I agreed on the condition that I would be allowed to look into her finances. I found a lot of unnecessary spending between her and my aunt that was happening largely because of ignorance of personal finance. My grandfather had handled all of the money until his death several years ago, and they've apparently been slowly bleeding their account dry.

I took the advice and tips provided at money.stackexchange.com and reddit.com/r/personalfinance and got them to a stable budget with a net positive cash flow. My aunt (the caretaker) has a monthly stipend, no services were cut, and now they're free of the stress of making ends meet.

This was kind of a "teach a man to fish" moment, but I also wound up feeding them until they learned to fend for themselves.

I'm a moderator over at Robotics, so any Robotics swag would be huge, or any moderator swag. I'd like to do more with the local robotics clubs and competitions this year, so this would all be awesome to rep at the meets.

Answer 7

ReStore.

Habitat for Humanity builds houses and helps people get into them who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. The organization runs on donations, but also runs a donation-based thrift store that resells ... everything. Literally. Want an old wooden window with panes of high-lead glass for that pinterest project? Go to ReStore. Christmas decorations on a budget or for giving to a local place you like? ReStore. Computers, appliances, tools, kitchen decor, ... I've found Dell monitors there for $5! Not the latest and greatest, but they work and now I have a multi-monitor setup.

We donate fairly often to restore - just sent a load each of the past few months and have another pile ready for departure - and we shop there too. If you want to contribute to their mission, you can donate or shop ... and if you're a true bargain hunter, most of their locations try to purge inventory quickly, so they offer discounts (75% or more) on items they've had for a long time.

Everybody wins.

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_{If it makes a difference, my favorite network sites are probably security, gaming, diy, unix, apple, vi, codereview, workplace ... and can't forget interpersonal. Thanks to everyone who keeps the site running and thanks to everyone who contribute answers and information!}

Answer 8

I am not sure if I'm eligible (good standing on meta?), but I would like to share anyway to at least give ideas to others.

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We have a family near our home without any permanent source of income, which even forced them sometimes to begging. We have set up a small shop for them (for selling vegetables), this year.

Life will still be tough for them, but let's see how it goes.

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The favorite SE site is Stack Overflow.

Answer 9

A woman in my community just had a baby. She doesn't have much family around to help her, and her financial situation isn't great either.

As a mother myself, I know how thrilling, and at the same time challenging it can be to bring home a new little person to join the family, especially when there are other children at home to care for.

I sent over a lovely meal for the weekend and she was so grateful!

I also recently sent a large bag of clothes to a local charity that "sells" the clothes for next to nothing to needy families. It's a win win because I get rid of the stuff I don't need anymore, the families feel they can buy their clothes with dignity and the charity shop uses the money they receive to keep doing their good work.

My favorites: StackOverflow, The Workplace and LifeHacks

Answer 10

My wife and I chose five charities to contribute to this year. Some years we choose organizations like the ACLU and other politically-oriented groups; other years we have donated to animal rights and protection organizations.

This year we chose organizations which help the needy and the homeless, especially children.

For 2019 we chose:

CityMeals which provides nutritious meals for aging New York City residents.

The Coalition for the Homeless which provides legal services, job training, shelter, and food for homeless Americans, including children.

The Salvation Army. Even though we are atheists, that doesn't stop us from giving money to religious organizations who help the least fortunate amongst us.

Women in Need to help homeless women and children in New York City.

The Fresh Air Fund which brings NYC kids out into the great outdoors.

_{I visit AskDifferent multiple times a day, and participate in English Language & Usage frequently.}

Answer 11

I am CS student and most of my Friday is off from the college stuff. I teach as lecturer assistant in my campus and get a salary at every end of the semester since one and a half year ago. Starting that day that I got my own money, I save up some of the money and use it to buy ingredients to cook lunch and give it to the beggars or anyone who want it in Friday. I do the shopping and cooking while my partner is the one who distributed it to people in need. At first, I can only cook up to 10 serving, but a couple of months ago, my mom voluntarily helped me on the shopping and cooking and we could make about 50 servings. That activity had been done approximately once in every two or three months. Now I still haven't graduated nor have a settled job yet. But every time my partner and I get an additional project (means additional income), we try to save up and use it to share with others.

There is another story actually that I want to share. So for two times, I received two gifts from my friend, really useful things that long I have been desiring. That two friend, was not really a close friend actually that makes me think of, why giving me?

Recalling the moment, as a student in the last year study, there happened some of my friends who ask me for a "guidance" related to their thesis. I thought that it is normal since I often "standby" in the campus laboratory so I was easy to be talked to. They are not that "internet person", even that we are on the CS major, so if they found difficulties they often came to me. Long story short, I heard that they have finished their thesis, in term of the project, not the manuscript. So I guess they were thankful to me because I gave them my knowledge? Well, I am thankful if what I am sharing is useful for them.

_{my favorite sites: I enjoy learning through StackOverflow and PuzzlingSE (can't decide which is the most favorite)}

Answer 12

First of all, let me say I love this event!

Here in Belgium, we have this huge event "Music for life", It's an entire week which is based on supporting people in need and more particular organizations that support these people in need.

This year the people of Belgium managed to raise 17.286.122 euros. How we do it? By organizing tons of events - everybody is allowed to initiate an event on their own and the money of the event will be donated to a good cause at music for life.

Together with a couple of friends we organized a small low-profile party, each inviting their friends - whom invited their friends - etc. We managed to raise around 500 euros of profit, which we donated to the an organization that fights cancer. It's not a huge sum of money, compared to some of the other events organized for music for life - but considering the fact that we organized this quite last minute and the fact that we were not prepared at all- I believe this is a nice achievement!

Lastly, it's lovely to read about all the nice things everyone here on SE did! Keep up the good work!

Answer 13

At the beginning of a year or in between I use to purchase clothes, also I receive few T-shirts/shirts as a gift each year.

Last year my dad asked me about my old or new clothes which are not in use or brand new those just tried once but don't like, we collected all and gave it to the person we hired for running small local business, so his kids can wear it. Indeed! It was really a pleasure to see the happiness on their faces.

Answer 14

I'm part of a small volunteer group in the UK that organizes pinball events for charity. For us 'pinheads' it's a win-win.. We introduce this amazing silver-ball hobby to a new generation of kids that have never seen a pinball machine before, and we also contribute all the profits to charity.

Organizing the largest pinball show in the UK (usually with up to 130 pinball machines, brought from all over the UK) is a significant amount of work. We all spend hundreds of hours a year, and personally I end up using most of my vacation days on these things - but the rewards are in the amount we've donated to charity, which I'm very proud to tell people is over £30,000 to date. Most of that has gone to Teenage Cancer Trust over the last few years, where we've also helped introduce pinball to one of the patient therapy wards. I'm told by the nurses there that the patients absolutely love a chance to take their mind of their illness and we all feel that there is a great community behind the pinball scene, so we absolutely welcome any new players that pick up this hobby from our events.

Most of the stuff I give away each year goes towards these pinball events, and specifically to our charity tombolla which is always in need of gaming related prizes.

Seems like an opportunity to promote our events too ;) so I'm happy to announce our next show is at Manchester Central on May 4th/5th Check our website or facebook page for more details and discounted entry tickets soon when we announce this event: www.ukpinball.com, facebook.com/nlpinball

Answer 15

Some coworkers and I donated a number of electronics to a local charity specializing in helping law enforcement forensically interview children who have been abused. The agency works with specially trained officers, social workers, doctors and therapists to help the children both testify via recorded video and audio (to prevent the child from having to face their abuser in court) as well as post care to help them and their families through the ordeal.

The electronics donated are used for raffles and fund raising and this is the third year we’ve done so.

So far we’ve donated More than $2000.00 in brand new electronics and are looking forward to donating further this year.

I’m a stackoverflow user primarily

Answer 16

I donate ten bucks a month each to a variety of charities. Up to around 30 charities at this point. They are automatically deducted from my credit card monthly.

I also give old tech and stuff I no longer need to either Goodwill or a local charity that gives stuff for free to people who need it.

I also asked my family of origin to donate the money they would have spent on my gifts to Community Outreach, a local group that provides care and lodging to folks who are going through a rough patch.

Answer 17

Every year I and my family donate what we can to a local shelter called "El Amor de Dios" (the Love of God). They receive abandoned kids from 0 to 18 years (legal age in my country).

The past two years we donated clothes and for this Christmas, they asked us for some big trash cans:

Answer 18

I have a poor fund that I keep around when I drive, It's usually a combination of singles, 5's or 10's that I put away after getting change whenever I shop. I don't like to give just a dollar to the poor so I use my fund to give them anywhere from 3 to 10 bucks so that they can get themselves some food.

Just last week a peddler approached my car while I was at a red light. I beeped, he came over and I gave him five bucks in singles and asked him to get some food with it. He gave me a huge smile and thanked me multiple times.

I have to say the biggest satisfaction is seeing people's smiles as I give them the money, it's like they've just won the lottery. I will keep doing this as God permits, the more money I get, the more I'll give away. My favorite Stackexchange sites are Stackoverflow and Sitecore.

Answer 19

I was doing a consulting job where I was asked to evaluate the feasibility of using raspberry pis for certain domain specific tasks that until now were being done on windows servers.

I was given around 40 - 50 pis for the project, and after the job I was told to keep them. I donated them to a local organization which runs a coding class for under privileged kids and teens.

My favorite sites are Stack Overflow and Raspberry Pi Exchange.

Answer 20

Right before Christmas, a local homeless shelter flooded. In the flood, the sewer and everything backed up. Ugh. It was a mess. Everything had to be thrown away. My family and I, along with the people from my church, gathered clothes, blankets and other necessary items and brought them down to the shelter because they were quite literally starting from scratch with all their supplies.

Favorite Sites: Aviation.SE, Stack Overflow.

Thanks for giving back Stack Exchange!

Answer 21

I am residing in Kerala, India where it affected flood in August 2018. I am also a victim, and we(with family) moved to a safe place. Moving to safe place is not an end, there's more social media can do at that time. I mostly used WhatsApp.

• Shared details about those who are seeking help at different places.

• Shared tips about shifting from one place to other(by walk) from flood affected areas.

• Shared tips about back to home, cleaning, health etc.

• Few doctors of our locality joined as a group for providing health assistance for flood affected people on every Tuesdays(started on Sep 2018). I took part in campaign as a volunteer.

It was a good experience and proud to be a part of it (Social Media data sharing), and mostly aimed at saving even one person's life from flood affected area.

I joined in Stack Overflow, now mostly using Android enthusiasts

Answer 22

I am from Kolkata, India.

Recently, we went to the kali temple (lake kalibari) on New Year's day. Along with my family, we carried with us about 20 packets of biscuits for the needy. There are many poor homeless people near the temple (especially children). We distributed the packets of biscuits among them! The smile on their face on receiving a small packet of biscuit on new years was really sweet and fulfilling :)

I have also bought more such small packets. They don't cost much but can feed a child for a meal.

P.S. I don't have any rep here but am usually active on SO.

Answer 23

I recently started volunteeering as a guide runner, available to train and race with visually impaired runners.

If that sounds like something you could do, please click on the link above!

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_{Should have mentioned: if that doesn't sound like something you could do, charity: water is my favorite "traditional" charity. 100% of donations go to actual water projects; their overhead is completely philanthropist(s)-funded. I challenge my classes every year to donate/fundraise enough to build a well a year!}

Answer 24

I donated last year a lot of clothes for babies to our local hospital, including a very cute baby body with the label "Future Stack Overflow user". I hope I could make a lot parents happy with that.

Answer 25

Ooh free stuff!

Fun fact! Last day at school, we gathered books to give at a local children charity. Guess who gave 25 books! Well, not me, I gave 10 random I had lying around

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Oops, I guess I am supposed to say that StackOverflow and Travel are my fav sites.

Happy New Year! 🎄🎄

Answer 26

My parents taught me at a young age to give and I have been giving 10% of my income before taxes to my church since I was 6 years old. It wasn't much to begin with, and through college it felt like a sacrifice sometimes, but now it is quite a bit. I believe the principle of generosity rings true no matter who or where you are: you will always get back more than you give.

I am most active on Stack Overflow.

Answer 27

I have done multiple kinds of kindness across the years, even in 2018

While most of my kindness have been small like helping people find directions for public transport, or giving people back their lost items, there is one task that I did that was a large effort

This task that I (together with my father) was removing an old cut down tree that was already cut down from the ground near the dance school in our town.

While removing a old tree doesn't sound as much effort as other people have done, it was actually a lot of effort, as the tree was more than 30 cm in radius. We actually had to take 2 evenings of digging and and cutting away the old water soaked roots before the tree finally went loose, but we were so tired that we didn't had the strength to pull the tree rom the hole we dig to get to the roots, this basically we had to come back here 1 evening later to finally move the old remains of the tree behind the building of the school and making the place tidy again

Answer 28

Thank you for this idea, and for the additional encouragement. Reading some of the other posts, I believe that this swag initiative has inspired some people to give a bit more.

You know what I really love? Libraries. I love libraries. I love free access to books, magazines, information, and tools, and convenient non-religious centers for organizing civic activity. In fact, my local library is my primary node in my network of donations: they collect cans of food and warm clothing and money and help get these to the organizations that distribute them. I'm proud to donate food and money to these organizations, but I'm also proud to donate directly to my library.

I like local libraries, and use my libraries all the time. I donate additional money and books to my library, and this last year I became a much more significant monetary donor.

My wife is from a very small town in Eastern Europe, and we donate money to the library in her hometown. We also sponsor the education of a young student named Magda (although admittedly we found out that the nonprofit we were sponsoring her through has some problems, so we expect to need to find a different donation outlet next year).

And I'm a mathematician, and I consider the arXiv like our essential public mathematical library. And archive.org and Project Gutenberg. I donate to each of these each year as well.

Libraries are awesome.

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_{I'm most active on Math.SE, MathOverflow, and StackOverflow. Cheers.}

Answer 29

Every year my company provides a gift for employees, with an option to donate to a charity instead. This past Christmas I used this to donate to Childhood Cancer Support - a charity which at that time of year helps to support children going through cancer treatment. In the spirit of the question asked, I guess it was pre-emptively giving something away I didn't really need.

Also like a few others here, I'm a regular plasma donor. If you are in Australia, check out if this is something you can do. One in three Australians need a blood products in their lifetime, so if not you then someone you know will benefit one day.

Answer 30

This post is about books donation.
Here's the short story : Normally all the postmen would just leave any package delivered in the society near the building's lift and the packages would get lost / damaged most of the times but this guy delivered a very important and time sensitive package in the rainy season by actually coming to my flat as he thought it must be important. I couldn't thank him enough and when we got to talking he told me he had a son two years younger than me. That's when I decided to give away all my entrance exam books to him. Whenever I see him now, he has the biggest smile on his face :)
My favorite sites are Stack Overflow and Ask Ubuntu.