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

My spouse and I were inspired by this post to go through our old clothes today and ended up making two trips to Goodwill drop off locations. We even threw in shoes and jackets too! Coincidentally, my brother and his wife, who are expecting their first child in May, visited our house today in the middle of our donation vibe and we sent them home with bags full of breastfeeding supplies and maternity clothes.

As an active StackOverflow member, a holiday donation that really resonated was donating a little-used Chromebook to a single mother who can't afford a new laptop and now uses it as their everyday computer primarily for night classes.

Incredibly inspiring to read through all these stories, makes me proud to be a member of the SE community :)

Answer 2

For me I prefer the simple ways of helping which is donating my old and replaced items to goodwill or other charity organizations.

Old/replaced cloths off to a goodwill. Old electronic devices off to goodwill. Old furniture, appliances and other house hold items off to goodwill. To me this is a great thing that can help people in need and also reduce waste as these items can still have plenty of good life left in them.

Another fun way to help out is when possible to purhcase items from services that will also donate to a charity. Examples of this are humble bundle for different items or amazon smile which can donate a small amount from every purchase.

Answer 3

The idea of receiving goodies from Stack was so thrilling that I like to participate too. :) (Although maybe it is better to do such things without telling everyone, but I love to get these Stack gifts).

A week ago, I gave some clothes to a charity that I knew for four years. I usually gave stuffs that I don't need to them to gave them to people that refer to them.

Also I know a person via a close friend. This person has no permanent job and he have to work daily to have an income to support his and his wife expense. Sometimes when he came short in supplying their needs, or an unfortunate situation like sickness occurs, he asks my friend for help and my friends tries to raise some money from his friends for him. As my friend is so close to me, he always tell me and I try to help an amount that I can.

And I think it is better to do something new as a result of participating in this announcement. So I commit myself to check my closet and give some warm clothes to someone in need in this week.

Answer 4

I've just booked in an appointment to give blood about this time tomorrow. Assuming all goes well, I'll give 470mL of whole blood, which will be used to help people with serious medical conditions or injuries, maybe even help save a life. It's been a little while since I last gave blood, so this was a good reminder that I'm overdue. I'll update once I've made the donation.

My favourite site on this network is the TeX stackexchange.

Answer 5

What a coincidence!

A couple of days ago I cleaned and packed up a lot of clothes that I don't need anymore. I thought I'd rather donate all that to someone who needs it.

Then, I saw this post on SE! Wow! Yesterday, I donated the clothes to the German Red Cross organization which surely can forward the donations to all people who are really in need.

Nice idea, SE! Hats off to you!

(BTW, I'm primarily active on StackOverflow, if you ask.)

Answer 6

I am a Sri Lankan resident, where the education is free of charge, even for your first degree. (Which is why I am here today, if there wasn't anything called free education, I will not be a Software Engineer today).

Even though we have free education, I've faced many difficulties during my studies. We have to buy stationeries and school uniforms which some people do not have enough purchasing power find it hard to do. Me, and my mother (She's a single mother) went through really tough times. But today, I earn much better.

Hence I am helping some children in need around my resident area, who find it hard to buy new books and cloths for the school, in the new year.

I have bought books and cloth packs for 5 kids, whose parents do not have funds to do so.

My team in the office this time replaced our Annual Secret Santa program, to help out some children in an orphanage too. We bought cloths, food, and stationeries for them, and we are currently planning a day out with them, with some music and fun items.

I contribute to StackOverflow primarily. I am also a user of IoT beta.

Answer 7

I just gave a big garbage bag of all my old clothes to the homeless people that live near me. These people stay alive from begging and selling marijuana in Johannesburg. It's an extreme life and many don't make it for very long. Clothes are things that are always needed especially with all the rain and for when Winter returns. The guys are very humble and are always happy to receive some donated items. I have been doing this kind of thing in the same community of homeless people since I was at school.

Answer 8

I generally try to avoid having too much stuff* so I don't have much to give away. Not spending too much on physical stuff leaves me with more numerical stuff (i.e. on my bank account) which I can share.

So I just donated a few hundred bucks each to two local charities: a homeless shelter (focusing on homeless alcoholics aka the "not so cool" homeless people, which tend to be the ignored among the ignored) and a children's hospice.

_{* Because I know I don't need most of the existing stuff. The offered reward stuff is actually useful, though. Except for, I guess, hats.}

Answer 9

This was the perfect excuse to get spring cleaning out of the way early this year! I have so many clothing items I never wear... Donated 2 garbage bags of clothes along with some hats and gloves (Minnesota is a cold place). And although it's not money or "stuff", we regularly volunteer time at our local animal shelter.

It's wonderful to see all the stories here. Shout out to all those giving blood; I wish I could do that without passing out :)

Answer 10

Long term SO user and SE lover in general! (For recent feedback on some controversy, What I love the most is the Hot Questions list ^^).

Every year, around this dates I usually donate some amoutn of money to the Tech companies I consider they do the best work for our online/tech world. Wikimedia Foundation is a no brainer every year, and this year Mozilla and EFF won my 10€ each. Just because Firefox, Rust and Online Rights are rightly indispensable, and great efforts to secure and improve our lives online.

BUT, as I did not know if this would count towards this, I inmediatly gone to our nearest food bank and gave several rice packs to them. It happened that I met some way-old classmate working there, so, double win!

Keep up with the good work! SE, this site deserves the same respect as Wikimedia!

For the lulz, I would really fancy somehting from ServerFault, or SO in general! But whatever you had at hand would be awesome!

Happy 2019 everyone.

Answer 11

With nearly 200 answers as I write this, I think the SE community can be very proud of it's achievements!

For my own contribution:

For the past 18 months, I've been volunteering at our local heritage railway, which is entirely run by volunteers. This has entailed leaning a number of skills that would otherwise be dying out as technology evolves, but which are important to preserve for posterity, while also helping to educate future generations about our industrial heritage and 19th-20th century history - and it provides a good balance to my day job in R&D.

Answer 12

I donate 20 euro to the UNO every month to help on their refugee program.

My favorite SE site is stackoverflow.

Answer 13

My few neighbors and me, collect our old woolen clothes. Every one of us spread words to our close friends as well so that we can have as many clothes as possible. We start doing it from the middle of December because actually unbearable winters start from new year in Delhi. By the end of December, we segregate clothes according to gender and Age. We distribute these clothes outside railway stations, slum areas, Temples, Gurudwara, Masjids, Metro stations (Tube/Subway) on the first weekend of the new year. We've been doing it from past three years now. I Would like this opportunity to share nice initiative happening in a couple of cities in India. Maybe, someone else can start it their own city/country. Some of city/locality resident mark one wall in their area as "Neki ki deewar" which literally means "wall of goodness". People put stuff which is not in use, there. A person who needs something, can walk up to that wall and get whatever they need.

I primarily use stack overflow.

Answer 14

In India you'll find beggars near temples, mosque, traffic signal, market, bus station, railway station etc. I have always believed that no one should pay a penny to them but I find it really difficult to do so every time so I hold my self strong to ignore them and let them pass by. One day, a friend of mine gave away 20 INR to one beggar, I asked him whether he know where his money will be spent, may be that beggar will get some drug or spend on alcohol, he looked at me and said, "I don't know but I know that he was hungry!". I was surprised how he can be so sure, so we decided to follow that beggar and make sure he don't spend that money on something unethical or illegal stuff, to my surprise that beggar bought a large cup of tea and 2 packets of biscuit. I thought why we ignore the needy because of those who cheat, may be number of people who really need help are very less compared to those who pretend to be in need for money if I talk about India.

From that day, I decided to save small amount of money from my salary for those who are hungry and can't earn money to get food. However, I don't donate it to any NGO or charitable trust because I can't completely trust them. Whenever, any beggar ask me for money I counter him by saying "Do you need money for food?" If he says "Yes", I simply buy him some food packets or order something for him in restaurant near by. Trust me, most of them refuses to have food, instead they insist to give them money. Also, I don't only limit it to human, but feed many street animals whenever I feel they need food.

Not sure whether this is really an act of kindness but I strongly find it a part of my moral duties as a human being. That's it!

My favorite site is stackoverflow.

Answer 15

I operate an ad hoc chapter of The Burrito Project in San Antonio. We try to once a month get together and roll about 500 warm rice and bean burritos and then hit the streets by bicycle handing them out to those who are hungry and living on the streets. No proselyting, no politics, just people helping people. We held our last roll 'n' ride on Saturday.

Also around this time of year, my family and I take our old coats downtown, and zip them up around telephone poles with a tag saying free to take. We did that about two weeks ago.

Favorite sites: StackOverflow and CodeReview

Answer 16

So I've donated to two main charities:

1) St Leonards Hospice who raise money for those with life threatening illnesses. Have donated toys, books and lots of clothing there (partly to clear out space!).

2) I also managed to salvage a whole load of stationary & equipment (including a very large and heavy laser printer... not fun to shift!) to donate to the local Foodbank in my city as they've just moved to a new office.

I primarily use StackOverflow

Answer 17

Since I was 10, I was doing volunteer work for spreading positiveness & spirituality every week for couple of hours, where we get together & talk about our great history, share food, tell stories of great characters etc.

Since last few year, as I started doing job, I regularly give away my clothes, shoes etc. to local community store so that it can help the one who need it.

Also whenever I see someone who earns money by performing on the street, I generously give money to them. (I promise, it's worth giving)

My Favourite site is "Stack Overflow"

Answer 18

Where I live there is a strong social expectation that those who don't get drafted into the army for whatever reason spend a year or two volunteering. I just finished my year of volunteer work doing tech support at a small local school that didn't really have anything in place prior to this. I rebuilt their website, taught a computer usage class, set them up to use the modern digital standardized testing system instead of paper where possible, and in general did tech support for whatever wasn't working to the best of my ability.
For "extra credit" i also paid weekly visits to an elderly gentleman who lives alone, and sat and talked (and helped with his computer). Even having officially finished i still visit him, including today.

_{My favorite sites are Stack Overflow and Mi Yodeya.}

Answer 19

Sweat donation ahoy!

My family has a tradition of volunteering to help our local Food Bank. We don't donate ourselves, but we organize, deliver flyers, and collect and sort food so all the Food Bank has to do is pick it up and deliver it to the people who need it. We've been helping with this for about 8 years in a row now.

We had a big weekend event where we managed to collect 500,000 lbs of food in a single day (not all my family, it was a province-wide event) by delivering flyers to peoples doors and picking up any donated food the following day. Needless to say, it's great to give time for a good cause, and even better when you hit ginormous numbers like that.

Answer 20

Time is something I have plenty of so I work with what I know, writing software for charities which are normally taken for a ride by vendors.

http://www.deafchildren.org.nz is the latest work for a deaf children in New Zealand. All work and hosting is done without charge.

Answer 21

I donated a new scarf, new pair of socks, and bags of like new clothes to a local shelter.

Answer 22

My wife and I support a local non-profit that provides single parents, low-income families, and pregnant mothers with resources needed for healthy pregnancies and caring for newborns. This includes educational material, counseling, and physical resources. We went through a bunch of our kids' baby clothes and donated a box of clothing items to the organization.

Answer 23

We do our usual end of year donation and angel cycle. The things that we do as a family:

1. Go through all of our books, and any that we no longer read actively (Especially the kids books), we donate to a local lending library for homeless.
2. Go through closets, and any clothing or other items that we no longer wear are collected and donated.
3. Christmas Angel - Salvation Army - As a family, we go and we pick out 1 card tag for each of the kids, and one as a family, and purchase the gifts requested on the tags. If our coworkers participate, we also get tags to match the dollar amount that they donate, and purchase those gifts as well. This year was 5 tags.
4. As part of our martial arts school, we participate in various clothing drives and once a quarter "Feed my starving children" food packing events.

Answer 24

Not sure if this is universal everywhere, but here in the UK many supermarkets have food bank collection bins. We'll often get a few extra items while shopping to put in the collection, especially at this time of year.

Certainly not anything out of the ordinary, many people do this - but hey, every little helps.

Answer 25

My family and I in New Zealand we donate things that we need and use to Red Cross and Salvation Army. Then we buy stuff from there to help them. I have been planning next year on christmas to get homeless people to go to my home let them shower, eat a Christmas meal with us and pray. All The best

Answer 26

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 27

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 28

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 29

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 30

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.