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 love your approach!

Today, I gave a couch, ottoman, bench and coffee table to Salvation Army. We've got a new couch on the way and figured someone else could use our stuff, which is still in good shape.

If you would like to send me stuff I can use with your logo on it, I'd appreciate a coffee mug, flashlight or pen. I'm most active in sharepoint.stackexchage.com, so if you have stuff with that logo, that would be a bonus.

If you'd like to send me stuff I can give away at a user group I help organize, you can send most anything. They tend to like t-shirts and hoodies.

Answer 2

I donated (mainly food) to Brisbane Youth Service, an agency that support homeless and disadvantaged young people (12-25 years) and their children. I invite those who live in Brissy to do the same if they haven't already.

Answer 3

I was already planning to do this when I came across this post -- which is awesome by the way! -- so now in honor of this post I:

• Donated clothing items.
• Donated house items I had extra of.
• $ contribution to those in need in my community.

I'm primarily active on Stake Overflow; it's definitely my favorite site in the network! You can view my profile if you want to see other sites I accidentally built reputation on, it's a hodgepodge for sure.

Answer 4

I think its a good idea to encourage others to help those in need. While, its a saying in India that "If you donate from your right hand, your left hand shouldn't know about it". But, I prefer to inspire. :)

People out here are truly charitable and it inspires me to do more. I wish to share these accounts for probably first time in my life.

To start with,

There is this one story that I am truly proud of in my own way. My first donation was at the age when I cudn't count. It was Diwali. On seeing a lady begging for alms near our home, I took 1000 bucks (They were a big deal before 20 years) from my father's wallet and gave it to her saying, "Its Diwali, buy new stuff for yourself." My parents while appreciating my gesture also scolded me for taking money without my father's permission. But, the scolding didnt affect me at all. I proudly said that noone should be sad during a festival.

Since then, our parents make my sister and I donate clothes every year. And blankets in winter. My husband too, took me to an old age home on my birthday. It was highly satisfying to see a smile on the faces of old people and seek their shower of blessings. Trust me, everyone should go there once. However, I dont have the courage to go to an orphanage yet. The mere thought of young children without parents just brings extreme sadness in me. My parents send our books over there.

I don't donate money anymore as people might use them in bad ways. So, I keep a bag of biscuits with me and whenever I see someone needy, I give them the food. And in summer, I try to buy icecreams for children. The smile on their face is truly satisfying.

My husband and I have decided that one day, we will take responsibility of fully educating atleast one child once we are capable enough to do so. Our search has begun.

I would point out that extending our hand to animals is also necessary. In our society, we try to treat hurt animals and send them to vet if the need be. I have this crows' scar on my head bcz the crows mother hit me with its beak as it thought I was harming the little crow who fell from the tree and couldnt fly back.

Don't know if this counts, but yesterday, it was freezing cold here.At a nearby place, a maid was cleaning utensils with cold water. My sister and I got the hot water arranged for her. She was happy. And so were we.

Answer 5

I donated two working monitors to the school in which I completed my secondary education. Also as I am an Engineering student I had notes of various subjects of my own, so I provide my notes of every semester to the needy students. I also designed a website for making easy the process of blood donation for the people living in my locality.

Favorite Sites: Stackoverflow, Quora.

Answer 6

I'm from Italy, this is a really great initiative from the community! Glad to be a part of this with some little contributions.

I have made donations to some organizations, listed below.

• Unicef - For poor children.
• Associazione Nazionale City Angels Italia - Which helps homeless people.
• The Ocean Clean Up - To help cleaning up plastic in the oceans.

I'd really like to thank you again for the initiative. It gave me that little push to start giving something back!

Thank you!

Mainly I'm active on SO.

Answer 7

Pretty cool event - love the idea!

This weekend I sorted out books I no longer need, ranging anywhere from children's books from my childhood to novels or tech books. I donated the children books to our local hopsital and the novels and other books to the retirement home in our city.

Everyone was so happy with their new books and I was happy to have more space in my book shelf - just like StackExchange does it now!

Answer 8

I along with my college friends teach kids from the slum area! The slum is near our college and we go there and teach them alphabets and numbers. We also donate them clothes and books. We also conduct a campus tour for them!

In the end, their smiles make our day.

With this kind of exposure, these underprivileged will surely be motivated to do something good. This can help them discover their potential to cause a lasting change in society and make an impact. There is also a positive change in attitudes and views in the slum society.

I enjoy answering questions on StackOverflow (also it is my favourite site along with Github :P)

Answer 9

Not much, but here it is.

On 30th December while coming back from dinner, I heard my Uber driver get into an argument over phone. Apparently some guy left his mobile in the cab and wanted it back immediately. He lived around 30km away and wanted the driver to drop everything and return back the mobile. The driver told him he has to drive all night and he can have his mobile back next morning. At this point the other guy threatened to involve police and started calling him names.

I usually don't talk during the rides but that day we had a nice chat. I paid him 2x for the ride and thanked him for doing the right thing even when the other guy was being a dick.

Answer 10

I'm monthly supporting a godchild in africa via the german kindernothilfe. They help financing her education and support her for example in growing their own crops.

Apart from that, I monthly donate to unicef to support education for children around the world. I'm hoping at least that improved education will have a long lasting effect improving their current situation and perspectives.

PS: Favourite SE site is Stack Overflow

Answer 11

This winter, I went to visit my aunt, before the Christmas holidays (I know I'm a Muslim from Pakistan, but we do get one holiday for Christmas). I had known that she was going through some rough times as her husband's filed for divorce and she had to leave her husband's house with all of her children. So I planned on giving her some money (not much but whatever I could afford). She happily accepted and gave it to her son who then complained that it's still not enough for a new jacket.

That's when I realized that he did not have a jacket IN THE WINTER SEASON. Right there, at that moment, I thought, well I can afford a new jacket anyway, let's give him mine. I asked him if he liked the jacket I was wearing and I gave it to him.

It wasn't anything expensive or posh, but it was good enough to keep him warm. And this weekend I also bought my aunt and her daughters, new dresses as well.

I mainly contribute to AskUbuntu.

Answer 12

My wife and I have been especially blessed this past year and she encouraged me to join her in donating a few thousand dollars to a humanitarian organization that we support. Our donation went specifically to helping get food parcels to Syrian refugees that are in need. I hope SE has a great new year and am super grateful for StackOverflow and the folks that make it happen! I couldn't do my job without it!

Answer 13

My wife works in a middle school affected by 2018's Merrimack Valley gas explosions. This meant that many students at that school were forced out of their homes. The co-workers at my office got together to donate needed supplies for these students: everything from toiletries for families living without hot water to shower, to extra holiday presents to student's who might not otherwise get one, to grocery store gift cards to help families returning to their homes after being evacuated for months.

I'm a big fan of Stackoverflow and Arqade

Answer 14

This year, I gave to support:

• Ministry of Hope, a chaplaincy group helping women in the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women, after hearing the stories of women in the prison system;
• Community of Living Traditions at Stonypoint, a multifaith community in NY, after hearing Eboo Patel speak to the importance of interfaith community;
• Montreat Conference Center, who graciously hosted us.

It is my hope that they will put their funds to good use to fulfill needs that I cannot dream of.

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This spring, I will also fulfill my commitment as Service Coordinator for a campus club, where I will organize and participate in events to serve and relate in our local community. I hope to place a particular emphasis on prison ministry and our dining services employees.

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P.S. Thank you, SE/SO, for inspiring people to come together in thoughtful ways.

P.P.S. My favorite sites are vi/vim and rpg, though honestly I love the content across the network.

Answer 15

It would have been a shame if someone hadn't shared the idea of purchasing handbags or small pouches, filling them with hygienic supplies and a pretty universal gift card, and just handing them to people on the street that you encounter in need of some help. Because I'm taking that idea too. It's fine to not want stuff, and I very specifically said that all too often charity is more for the benefit of the giver than (the) recipient, but don't you have some words that might help people think and give creatively or efficiently? That's all we want ;) - Tim Post ♦ (13 hours ago)

Absolutely. It's wonderful reading the answers on this thread! At first, I was a bit embarrassed to participate in this giveaway contest. My charitable contributions, as far as "people" are concerned, are just regular stuff like occasionally giving some money to the panhandlers, which I think almost everyone does. Apart from that, I'm a student with a limited monthly allowance and don't really have much to give out in the way of charity. However, some of the answers from the students and the teenagers, on this very thread, have inspired me and given me some excellent ideas, just as Tim says. It seems that being a student is no excuse for not being able to be charitable and help the society out, in our own little ways. Devoting one's time and patience to those who need it, doesn't require money!

I'll share my story. It's not about "people" as in "humans", so I don't know if it counts, but I'm giving it a shot since @Tinkeringbell encouraged. In Indian university campuses, it's pretty common to spot street dogs and unfortunately, it's also pretty common to see the canteen owners kicking them out whenever they go nearby. Since the past year, it's been a habit of mine to buy an extra plate for the dogs whenever I buy food from the college canteen, during recess time. Mostly it's chicken-cheese sandwiches or rice with curry or egg-chicken rolls. Sometimes it's burgers or pasta. Luckily, our canteen food is available at government-subsidized rates for university students and it's reasonably cheap for me.

There's a small field nearby where I go and have to wait for a bit. 4-5 dogs "magically" sense the smell and gather there within a few minutes. They do indeed have a very sharp perception of smell...but I guess it's more because the dogs roam nearby that field during the daytime! I like to stand and eat there with them. Initially, I used to feel a bit uneasy about others staring at me when I gave the dogs food but gradually got over it. Seeing me, even some of my classmates started sharing a part of their lunch with the dogs!

The dogs seem to be more or less healthy these days, which is a good sign. Anyway, this was just a tiny bit from my side. I hope this answer motivates at least a few people to take care of the street animals a little bit more. That's all.

^{My top 3 favorite sites on the Stack Exchange network are Physics, Quantum Computing, and Mathematics.}

Answer 16

I, along with other members of my church, donated things like soap, toothbrushes, socks, shampoo, and toilet paper to our local homeless shelter.

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I like Stack Overflow, Meta Stack Exchange (if it counts), Puzzling, and Stack Apps

Answer 17

I've made a New Year's Resolution not to pass a person in need without helping. (Actually it was more of a winter resolution, since I started it in November, simply because 'no time like the present, amirite') I've had to start going to the bank more often for small bills, since I sometimes pass several people a day.

I know it's not flashy or huge, and I know some people would say that it doesn't help them in the long term, but I've come to believe that each person knows their own needs best and I should extend a tiny bit of faith in the human race and treat homeless people like the adults they are and just give cash that they can use for medicine/hotel room/phone charger/hearing aid battery/shampoo/whatever they actually value and need right now, rather than hand them another fast food meal or something like that.

My favorite stacks are Stack Overflow, Interpersonal Skills, Pets, Parenting, and English Language & Usage

Answer 18

I made donation of 100 INR, via my college, which sent students to give the needed things, to help Kerala flood affected people.

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I am studying Masters in Mathematics. I like others to know Math Overflow, History of Science and Math, and Math Stack Exchange sites. I prefer Math Overflow over others.

Answer 19

This is a collaborate effort from multiple people, stretching over months though i'd say my personal part in it relatively is small. I would still like to share what these amazing people do.

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This year we learned that a colleague was planning to go to Belarus with two minivans and a couple of friends to deliver clothes, electronics and toys to families who live in often poor and bad circumstances.

They do this entirely non profit, in their own spare time. And not without danger.

to help these people out we and a couple of other families collected all our old clothes, toys, electronics and other essentials for those people and gave it to the people who were going there.

Despite not going there myself the photos and videos were heartwarming. One of these I will never forget. There was a young girl (probably around 14 years old) that had received a plush bunny. The happiness radiated off her as she walked around with it all day, showing it all the places around.

I truly hope they can manage to do this again next year, and am already saving up stuff to give next time around. Lets give more children their smile back, and cloth the people for the upcoming winters!

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_{StackOverflow is my place to hang. And actually a mousepad short at work...}

Answer 20

I've got a box with a handful of new remote-controlled toys on its way to Make-A-Wish this afternoon.

Answer 21

This year I made a (university matched) donation equal to one week's salary to the United Way of Milwaukee and Waukesha County (WI). (Why not, when your employer essentially doubles your donation!)

But more rewarding was helping the United Way assemble and deliver "care packages" to accompany holiday gifts for women in domestic abuse shelters, for homeless men and women, and for disaster victims. The care packages are part of "The Shoe box Project", in which boxes are designated for male, female, or "either". They include everything from toothpaste and a toothbrush and dental floss, soap, lotion, shavers, tissues, 2 washcloths, shaving lotion, body wash, shampoo, a comb and a brush, deodorant, postage stamps, stationary, envelops, and much much more.

It was a great opportunity for me to feel grateful for what I do have, and a reminder that we may easily take for granted some of the basic necessities for hygiene and communication with others.

Favorite site: math.se

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where's the promised swag???

Answer 22

Empowering children with a gift of knowledge

I am a voracious reader and ardent technology enthusiast. That way I ended up accumulating loads and loads of books and tech gadgetry.

During my visit home this Diwali, I could't help but notice the pile of books and magazines that I have created over the years. There were some unused but working computers and laptops too, those that folks like us, living on the cutting edge tend to call obsolete.

Most of the books have been really useful in gaining knowledge during my formative years, in the age of limited Web access and lack of content. The content in the books is really useful, but in the day and age of digital access, carrying books is not relevant to most of us folks. I am way past collecting books and carrying them when everything is available on a smartphone within seconds.

That got me thinking, what's the best way to give the stuff away to someone who will really appreciate it, and can make use of it. Simply throwing away in trash or selling it off will serve the purpose of freeing up clutter, but didn't feel like the right thing to do.

That got me thinking and led me on a hunt to explore places which could best utilise the stuff. Charitable schools, orphanage and shelter homes for needy were the places I visited. Finally, I ended up donating the collection of books and the computers to a couple schools which lacked even the basic facilities like a library or computer labs.

Upon learning that those schools also lacked funds to set up even the so called basic resources, I felt inclined to utilise whatever free time I had. A couple computers, a laptop and a Kindle kept stacked in the almirah for years with no one using it? Let's wipe the dust, set it up, take it to school and take some time to introduce computers to children who weren't fortunate enough to use one in the day and age of smartphones!

It was a really humbling feeling to share the unused stuff with someone who will feel enthused just to see it. I had the best time of my life spending time teaching kids to draw and type on a computer.

The smile and excitement on the faces was my best holiday gift ever for me!

There's a kid's magazine called Tell Me Why that I have read for years.

Published once a month with very high quality content on a specific subject. I had a big pile of the said magazine and loved reading them in my childhood. I donated my entire collection to a school which didn't even have a library, effectively setting up a mini-one for the children :)

I am mostly active on Ask Different with occasional visits to Stack Overflow.

Answer 23

This is an amazing idea! I have donated my baby supplies to goodwill (car seats, swings,high chair) I also signed up at charitychallenges.org and donated to them. They work with veterans groups such as green beret foundation and team RBW. As far as what sites I like I am a huge Apple fanboy!!! I also enjoy stackoverflow.

Answer 24

We haven't spent any money on fireworks for ~15 years - the most we buy for new years eve are sparklers for the kids. Instead we donate a similar amount - this years donation went towards wikipedia (me) and Brot für die Welt (wife).

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My company has a "take for free" cleanup where they give employes a free choice of outdated chairs and desks (before disposing them). They are all worn down and got replaced with new stuff. When I heard about it we secured some of those for the lokal youth center where my wife works. They got free (worn) chairs and descs and replaced even worse ones they kept because no money for replacing them was alloted the last years.

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When traveling to work, I pass the train station where I live. There are always begging homeless around. I never give money - when asked for it I instead (mostly in winter) get a third and fourth bagel and extra coffee and donate that to the one that asks for it. There is a train-mission (a non profit) inside the train station where they get coffee and warm up without needing to pay, but some rather beg for money.

Answer 25

This year donated lot of lightly used baby clothes to local thrift store and started recurring donations to St. Jude’s childrens hospital. Gave extra donation as a holiday gift last month along with a greeting card.

Ofcourse the charity that is dearest to me is https://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/child-sponsorship-form Doubled my contribution this year to celebrate an important personal event.

I use stackoverflow, data science, ask ubuntu, unix and linux, personal finance and money most.

Answer 26

I will be donating about 4 large garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill, as my kids continue to grow like weeds. (Who gave them permission to grow?)

I also have 4 bikes I will be donating to good will (those meddling kids again!), as well as two grills, and a large fire grate this Spring, to finally reclaim a parking spot in my garage.

Favorites are Board Games, Arqade, and Stack Overflow.

Answer 27

I discovered that a local charity runs an annual event where the community comes together to raise money for Cancer research. Having some skills with iOS development, I have been developing an iOS app for their event later this year that will allow those who attend the event to donate money online, find out more about the event, and hopefully encourage them to attend.

It all started when I got into communication with the team behind the event, and they were extremely grateful for my offer to volunteer to develop an app for them. I'm halfway through the process now, and it's coming together.

I will be attending the 2-day event to look after the app as well as pitch into the amazing cause they're raising money for. These people are truly remarkable and their dedication to the event and the cause is mind-blowing. It warms my heart to know that I'm helping them out with my own skills. There is truly no better feeling than dedicating your time for others.

I'm a reasonably new member to the Stack Exchange, but my favourite networks are Stack Overflow and Super User.

Answer 28

Each year my wife and I help serving breakfast to the homeless around Easter as part of a community service offered by a local charitable organization. It's always humbling to dedicate time to serve others in need.

We also hoard our grocery store loyalty points throughout the calendar year, until Christmas time when we shop for food supplies that are desperately needed by local food bank.

Being beekeepers, we're fortunate enough to have buckets of liquid gold... they make sweet surprise gifts as well. :)

Answer 29

I'm not generally one for giving to charity a lot, maybe once or twice a year depending on how much stuff I've amounted recently but other than that I don't do much. I do, however, buy clothes and what not from local charities that do things in our local area for people in need. This year I was also able to give large donations to a few because I've just (literally just: 20^th December) moved home and so had a lot of stuff I had pre packed to send off to charity. I managed to give away a lot of clothes to people that need them, games to some children less well off than I was and some furniture we no longer had place to, to a local charity that gives out furniture to those who can't buy it themselves.

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_{For swag I'd generally prefer SciFi.SE stuff as that is the only site I really frequent often (waaaaay too often if you ask some people) but other than that Gaming.SE, PPCG.SE and M&TV.SE would be cool too.}

Answer 30

I donated some unused networking supplies to my church today. We're running a new TV display, and network cable is much easier to run than an HDMI cord the same distance. It's not a charity as such, but it will help those in the back see our presentations that much better.