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

I entered into a raffle for the Kentucky State Police Trooper Island program where they take underprivileged kids to a camp out on an island in Kentucky Lake and teach them all kinds of skills. https://kentuckystatepolice.org/trooperislandcorvette/

I have also donated some canned goods to local food drives.

Answer 2

I am currently in the process of building a website for a non-profit all on my own time. I Just recently donated money to a family in need that has two mortgages to help pay off their debt. Also Gifting a $100 Walmart Gift card to someone in need.

Answer 3

This Christmas my brother and I volunteered at Crisis with their Crisis at Christmas period. We spent Christmas day and the Sunday beforehand there. It is the first Christmas we spent without our parents (who are perfectly healthy but in another country) so we signed up to do something else worthwhile with some of our holiday period. My brother and I spent a lot of time cleaning (taking out trash, cleaning rooms, working up a sweat scrubbing pots and pans) and doing door duties (either guarding entrances to staff-only spaces or welcoming guests and signing them in). It was fulfilling and I'd like to make it a tradition, volunteering around if not on Christmas day.

This year I've also lost a lot of weight and gone down a size, so I have a large sack of oversized clothes I'm donating to Crisis as well.

Crisis is a UK charity with the mission of ending homelessness. During the Christmas holiday period most homeless shelters in the UK close down leaving many people on the streets without food or shelter. To counteract this, Crisis at Christmas is a two-week period in which Crisis provides locations where those who are homeless or in dire circumstances can come in for shelter, meals, company, games and movies, etc. They also organise for doctors, hair dressers, psysiotherapists, Alcoholics Anonymous, and other support sources to be available during the Christmas period. It is pretty awesome, and there's something like 200-300 volunteers each day at the center we volunteered at.

I like RPG.SE, GameDev.SE, and BoardGames.SE the most.

Answer 4

I, along with a colleague of mine, built a website for a local charity, that helps kids from less-insured families get christmas presents with what they wish for. The kids wishes and anonymized identifiers are put up on the web, and people from all over the country will then buy the gifts for the kids and take them to a collection point. 2018, the charity ran with >800 kids and everyone got a present!

Favorite site: Stack Overflow

Answer 5

On new years day while walking home I helped an elder woman in a broken wheelchair move her chair and possessions through a subway turnstile. It felt good to start the year on a positive note, definitely better than the hangover I was nursing.

I make small recurring donations to a few organizations that I support. I've been donating to Planed Parenthood for years. I also donate monthly to the Children's Miracle Network which started by me supporting a housemate with their Extra Life charity marathon. I also make a larger donation to NorthStar Self Directed Learning Center to support their goal of never refusing a teen because of an inability to pay fees. My time there as a teenager was integral to me becoming the person I am today. I'm glad that to be in a position where I can give something back to them.

Last year was far from the best, but I was fortunate to find myself with a stable job and few unexpected expenses. I'm adding the EFF, SPLC and ACLU to the list of organizations I donate to monthly.

Answer 6

I had just got back to my University city from a 4 hour car-bus-train-train-tram journey, and decided KFC was the best bet.

I walked past 2 homeless men on my way there, and was annoyed because I didn't have any cash on me.

I arrived at KFC, and a man was sitting next to an ATM, just outside KFC. I am about to get money out for the man, but change my mind, and instead offer him some KFC. He was incredibly grateful; more-so than the offer of a small amount of chicken would be to me!

I have a student discount at KFC, so I got a mini-fillet burger for free with my meal, and added on a snackbox for the homeless man. He was incredibly thankful as I popped back out to give it to him, and I was pleased that I'd made more of a difference to him than just giving him a bank note and walking on - there was much more of a connection.

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Remember that many cities have a number you can phone for a charity social worker to check on a homeless person. This is one of the best things you can do; it's means the charity know who is where, and ideally they can provide a warm bed, especially for the cold winter months.

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_{Stack Overflow branded goodies would be my preference, followed by either Meta Stack Exchange or Ask Ubuntu! Thank you for hosting this, it's a really good way to make a positive change in the world!}

Answer 7

Coming from a family that makes sure to include charity in daily acts of life, I pledged to donate a part of my income every month, having contributed financially to EFF, Wikipedia, Mozilla and OWS. When Kerala and the North East were hit with the worst floods, I couldn't help but contribute with water purifiers, blankets (thanks to Amazon wishlist) and the relief fund.

I also tend to the street dogs(since I was 4!) and help them with food, meds, and preventing abusive actions against them.

Thanks to this Stuff A Way, I get a platform to receive any suggestions for charities globally (accepting electronic contributions). Or if you are pooling funds for a cause.

Warm hugs!

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_{And my favourite SE sites are: StackOverflow, UX (as I work as a front-end dev), Travel and Aviation (for the joy of flying)}

Answer 8

I've "adopted" a family most years for Christmas. I have a few rules for this:

• Be anonymous.
• Have the receiver be someone you don't know.
• Find someone who needs help.

That last one pretty much defines how I handle it - through my church. Sure, they may say they need help. But now I'm leaving it in the hands of God.

I have a monetary limit. US$500. (I'm not really wealthy.) I have a time limit also - if you need help in no-monetary ways (painting, cleaning, laundry) I'll give you may entire day (and use of my car within reason)... but only one day and during the holiday season.

This past year it was monetary. A single mother with two children (boy age 6 and girl age 3). My wife really enjoyed buying clothes and toys. We got something for the mother. We only knew one name - the mother's. We showed up with wrapped gifts on 22 December, introduced outselves by first name only (along with our church) and left less than 15 mites later knowing that we made three lives happier for the holidays.

Answer 9

Our Church participates in a charity called Interfaith Hospitality Network. This is a network of churches that give homeless families a safe place to spend the night, food, counseling, and help finding a job. They need various things, usually food items and cleaning supplies, as well as the occasional overnight host to stay with the families when they are using our church. This Christmas my wife and I dropped off several bags of cleaning supplies to their office in Cincinnati.

Answer 10

In preparation for our move into a new home, we've de-cluttered and donated a large amount of items including clothes and blankets to homeless shelters. We've also donated all kinds of children's clothing and toys.

We also have and continue to volunteer time at Feeding South Dakota, packaging food to be distributed to non-profits around the state of South Dakota.

My favorite SE site is Stack Overflow.

Answer 11

I worked with a small group in my company to organize a donation drive for Hurricane Florence relief.

Florence wrecked many areas on the east-coast of the U.S. The storm flooded many homes and businesses, causing a shortage of clean food, water, and loss of electricity.

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My company was very lucky to be in a town that was not heavily affected, which gave us a great opportunity to provide support to neighboring areas that were hit. The below picture are the donations from one of our three buildings that participated in the relief effort.

Answer 12

Last year my family had to bid a sad farewell to our family pet of 13 years, our beloved schnauzer Casey. It wasn't until we started getting all of our dog stuff together that we realized how much we had. Instead of throwing it all away, we donated everything to the local dog rescue. A full car load of beds, leashes, toys treats and food(cases and bags, since my wife shops in bulk for this).

Due to the emotional pain, I thought it would be a while before we got another dog. However, through our continued interaction with the rescue folks, we met a loveable little puppy from the Sato Project. She had been shaved nearly bald due to the conditions of her fur and has a massive over-bite. She wasn't getting much attention from adopting families but she grabbed our hearts. We adopted her and are so happy to have her in our home (and start accumulating dog stuff again).

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I quite often hit up Stack Overflow as a consumer and I am a contributor to Workplace

Answer 13

In early December, my wife and I donated about 10 bags worth of clothes that we have accumulated and rarely wear to the Purple Heart Foundation. I, myself a veteran, come from a long line of veterans, so helping out fellow vets is something very important to me.

We also donated a couch to Habitat For Humanity. Hopefully our donations brought someone joy this Holiday Season!

My favorite sites are Puzzling and Stack Overflow (specifically the C# tag).

Answer 14

After recently moving apartments to one with less closet space, my girlfriend and I decided to donate old clothes. So between us we filled about three cardboard boxes with shirts, t-shirts, pants, etc. and also about three or four pairs of shoes. We have already donated many of these clothes.
Now for 2019, my resolution is that every time I buy or receive new clothes, I'll separate at least one old item of clothing to donate to charity.

Aside from that, we have a system for sending money to other people (similar to PayPal) called PicPay, which sometimes offers a bit of cash back on payments made through their platform (5 or 10% of the money you sent). Instead of just transferring this bit of extra funds to my bank account, I've decided to always donate it to charity institutions, like the Red Cross, which has an account there.

Last year, my girlfriend sent a message suggesting people who were about to get her Christmas presents instead donate some money to Brazil's WWF, who have many wildlife preservation projects here. I was the first donor, and even sent WWF a bug report with a problem with one of their payment methods.

My favorite site is definitely StackOverflow!

Answer 15

A few days ago an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 occurred (local news report) near Yibin, Sichuan Province. I am busy preparing for my finals these days and can't do much, so I saught out the student organization of donation and dedication and donated 100 CNY to their funds from my savings, in response to their regular activity after these natural disasters' happening (mostly high-magnitude earthquakes - particularly frequent in some parts of China).

It's not really what I'm good at, but I feel honored doing so. I hope some day developing/maintaining software could be a sort of "dedication" (that's what I'm good at :P).

I love Android Enthusiasts, Stack Overflow, Meta Stack Exchange the most.

Answer 16

I gave some rare reference books to a student who wanted to have them for her studying purposes. She picked it from my library and was very happy when she found them as there are no these books in bookstores anymore.

This site is my favourite :)

Answer 17

I give routinely to charities and non-profits (such as United Way, Wikipedia and GovTrack, among others). But I recently realized that I had a very hard hearted attitude toward anyone who approached me on the street. I would usually say no to any request, and sometimes I'd be unconsciously rude about it too.

One day, after witnessing such an interaction, my wife challenged me about it. I was defensive at first, but the more I thought about it the more I convicted I felt. I think this story, told by Walter Hooper about an experience he had with C.S. Lewis, was a major breakthrough for me:

On the way to an Inklings meeting, he gave some money to a street beggar, and I made the usual objection: "Won't he just spend it on drink?" Lewis answered, "Yes, but if I kept it, so would I."

So I made the decision to take people at their word, and to be charitable toward anyone that asked so long as I had the means. And to ensure I had the means (since, as is common among my age group, I rarely carry cash), I made a point to add a budget line for charitable giving.

Since then, I've had some wonderful encounters.

A few days before Thanksgiving a woman approached me on the street on my way back from lunch and told me that she was between jobs and didn't have enough money to make Thanksgiving dinner for her kids. Since I still had plenty of budget left, we were able to walk to the nearest grocery store and I told her to get whatever she needed. I learned her name and a bit of history about her family, which gave me a new appreciation for folks in her life situation.

Another time a guy was asking for some money from a couple that was clearly ignoring him (like I used to do). So I approached him and asked if he needed help. He told me he was recently divorced and now homeless. He was living at the local shelter, but they require a small payment after the first week. He said he had already started a job but was getting paid in arrears, and he didn't have enough cash to pay the small fee. Because I had a budget, I knew that I had enough to set him up for a couple weeks at the shelter. So I drove him to the bank (so I could withdraw the cash) and we talked. Once again I had a new window into the struggles that some people go through and how we are all just a few bad days away from the same situation.

I've gotten to know some names and faces and histories from my local community in ways that I wouldn't have otherwise. I've learned a lot about how badly things can go and also how helpful just a little generosity can be. I've also become less hard and cynical about the needs around me, and more OK with being a "sucker" because, for every time I get "taken", there have been other times where I think I helped someone who really, genuinely seemed to need the help.

Answer 18

I spent a weekend this past December volunteering at a community hospice down the road. I spent a bit of time doing busy work/chores, but the lionshare of the weekend was spent with hospice patients. Many of them did not have family come by and visit, so it was nice to be able to provide them with some company. I played a lot of card games. :)

My favorites are Stack Overflow and Worldbuilding. :)

Answer 19

This year, I bought a small stack of $5 gift cards to Subway, McDonald's, and other places where food can be obtained relatively cheaply, to keep in my car. I hand them out in lieu of cash to people asking for food money on the street corners I pass by.

I also regularly keep bottles of water in my car to hand out similarly.

_{The main Stack I haunt is U&L, though I peruse vim, AskUbuntu, and some of the gaming (electric and tabletop) Stacks now and again.}

Answer 20

As a teacher for years, I gave free courses when I could afford it, as sharing knowledge and education are soooo important.

Beside giving food/coffee/money to people who need it, I also give clothes to a charity, and buy food for another. But hey! It's unfortunately so common. Many many people do that. I was looking for something different. And the mother of one of my students, coming to my office to pay for some courses, saw something, asked, and gave me a wonderful idea!

Now, I need these pens!!! Lots of them :)

I often receive, as gift, from suppliers, pens and notebooks. Use some, lots of spare ones. I put them as decoration in the office. She saw them and ask for them. She's part of a charity that helps children who can't afford to buy stuff to go to school. And twice a year, she goes to Madagascar island and give all the pens and books to the kids.

How come that I never had that idea by myself?... Never mind...

NOW, SO, you open those drawers, pack what's inside, and give me these spare pens of yours :)))

Thanks to you, lady ;)

Answer 21

Each holiday season my wife and I enjoy purchasing gifts for needy families in our community. The past few years we have begun involving our twin daughters in the selection of gifts and it has been awesome to watch them become more involved every year. This year in addition to those families in our immediate community we purchased requested items from a giving tree benefiting an orphanage in Africa.

I feel a bit strange typing this up as we are generally pretty quiet about our philanthropic endeavors, but I love Stack Overflow swag (my Arqade and Stack Overflow shirts are some of my favorite geek ts) so figured I'd put it out there.

My favorite Stack Exchange sites are: Stack Overflow, Arqade and Seasoned Advice.

Answer 22

This feels a little weird, but here goes...

Good timing. Recently I've been going through my own personal stuff-a-way, cleaning out my junk room second bedroom. I've donated a desk, a chair, and a bunch of toys, picture frames, CDs, and clothes. I'm looking for a place to donate a bunch of comic books as well- any suggestions?

I also regularly donate to the Processing Foundation. In their own words:

Our mission is to promote software literacy within the visual arts, and visual literacy within technology-related fields — and to make these fields accessible to diverse communities. Our goal is to empower people of all interests and backgrounds to learn how to program and make creative work with code, especially those who might not otherwise have access to these tools and resources.

We do this by developing and distributing a group of related software projects, which includes Processing (Java), p5.js (JavaScript), and Processing.py (Python), and facilitating partnerships and collaborations with allied organizations and individuals, to build a more diverse community around software and the arts.

The Processing Foundation is specifically invested in expanding the communities of technology and the arts to include and support those who have not had equal access because of their race, gender, class, sexuality, and/or disability. We sponsor a Fellowship Program that funds exploratory, creative, and technical research; support an Advocacy Program, which focuses on nurturing diverse communities and their specific projects; produce public events that provide platforms for collaboration between our contributors; and take part in panels and talks that spread the word about the need for diversity in these fields.

At our core is the philosophy and politics of FLOSS (Free, Libre, Open Source Software.) We see software as a medium, something that connects two things. We view it as a means for thinking and making. We believe it should be free. We believe that learning to program is not about acquiring a certain skillset, but is instead a creative and exploratory process. We believe software, and the tools to learn it, should be accessible to everyone. We believe software literacy and an understanding of media of all kinds is essential knowledge for today.

And Donors Choose, where you can donate to local (or non-local) classrooms. Teachers create a project (basically a request for materials or new tools for their classroom), and after a project is funded, Donors Choose purchases the items and ships them to the teacher.

Oh, and I donated a bunch of toys to Toys for Tots a couple weeks ago. Full disclosure though, that was for an event at a bar, and I did get some free french fries in return.

Edit: If you're looking for an easy way to donate money, check out Amazon Smile. Just append smile. in front of any Amazon URL next time you're shopping, and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to a charity of your choice. It doesn't increase the cost for you at all. It's a small thing to do, but it adds up over time.

Answer 23

I had donated some amount for a charity. They make sure poor kids don't stay hunger. The amount I donated will help one kid stay healthy and eat nutritional food that serves up to one year.

I had also donated to someone unknown who was need of some money who was in a typical condition in hospital after a road accident, this I saw through a Facebook post.

I wish many others who can donate also do their best to help someone in need.

I like all stack exchange sites, but out of interest I browse through https://aviation.stackexchange.com/.

Answer 24

On the streets of India, it is not an uncommon site to see children begging. I see such children of all ages almost every day when commuting or biking.

It always saddens me to see these kids of the same age as me and my siblings on the street, when they could be learning or playing.

As a student myself, there's not much that I can do, but I volunteer at after-school teaching programs whenever I can - and we stay back after school to teach less privileged children.

Today evening while going out biking, I'm going to go purchase as much candy and chocolate that I can with my saved up pocket money, and go distribute it to the kids who can inevitably under the nearby overpass. It's not much, but at least it'll bring a smile to a few faces.

I'll update in a few hours.

Answer 25

Some boxes of items we don't use anymore donated to The Kent in Kitchener. It is run by the Mennonite Central Committee which uses funds raised to provide relief work, refugee resettlement, and people in poverty. A Stackoverflow network user here.

Answer 26

My wife and I regularly collect items to donate to Goodwill (and have a bag of items right now that is ready to be dropped by). We also contribute monetarily to the Atlanta Community Food Bank to help them feed the hungry around Atlanta.

We also keep a couple bags of items in our car to give out to those asking for things which contains some food, pads, water, etc. Great way to be able to help out.

I'm most active on Stack Overflow, but also like Ask Different, Server Fault, Unix and Linux, and Ask Ubuntu.

Answer 27

I give an annual donation to the Björn Steiger Stiftung (English) in order to help making defibrillators more accessible in Germany. They work with donations only despite playing such an important role in helping people quickly.

Unfortunately most of them are in public buildings which do not always have open and are apart several hundred meters usually so if you or someone else have an issue, this important help is often too far away to be effective which is one of the many problems the foundation tries to work against.

Other projects of the foundation include:

• Reanimation training in schools
• A special built baby ambulance for premature infants
• SOS-telephones on German streets

I am mostly connected to Stack Overflow (work and chat) and Aviation.SE (hobby) :)

Answer 28

Feed the homeless, help the little ones.

This morning, as we do on the first Saturday of every month, our men's group at church prepared and served breakfast for the people at the homeless shelter downtown; usually about 200-250 breakfast tacos, coffee, bottled water, and donated fresh fruit. (We are part of a rotation of local churches who do that on the weekends). Each November I roast a turkey at home and deliver it to the dinner at the shelter on the week before Thanksgiving.

This past August we went out to a local facility that takes in children who have no parents (ages infant to mid- teen) and keeps them safe and secure until the foster parent system gets them a place or a relative can legally become their legal guardian. How each one got there is a sad story ...
The children were all in the west wing for the day, and we stripped, cleaned, and waxed the floors in the east wing (the living quarters). (A few weeks later, another church men's group did the other side ...)

This was in addition to the picnics we put on for the kids in the spring and fall: we buy and cook the food, get the bouncy ball rides, shaved ice vendors, and so on. Different faces each time, but the need never changes. I am glad this shelter is there, but I do wish there wasn't a need for it.

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Most active on Aviation, Christianity, History, RPG, SF&F SEs.

Answer 29

This is so awesome! thank you all for doing this! :D

My participation was to donate to an organization that supports immigrants children especially for medical needs, the cool thing was that my company matches our donations!

Answer 30

I try every year to donate directly to already existing scholarships at my graduate school alma mater.

My undergraduate thirty-year reunion was last year so I donated to my old department and the "club" that I enjoyed the most: the handbell choir!

With 2 young kids, I seem to always be sorting through their clothes for too-small or not-worn items. These go to our local assistance league. Last week I expanded my hunt and cleaned out my "good clothes" closet--from which I haven't worn anything for probably 10 years. The results (several bags worth) will hopefully provide people with some work clothes.

For general charities, my go-to has been Medicine Without Borders although I try to donate to friends' charities via FB.

I am very glad to be in a position that makes donations possible and easy.

My favorite sites are [Travel.se], [Expatriates.se], [scifi.se], and [gis.se] although I also lurk on Academia, Workplace, Personal Finance, and Law.