Marsha,

[Anne and Dwayne Hood]

You wrote on the classic Ladies Forum about the homeless man. Someone ask why you would give printers that do not work. I haven't been able to write on that board lately.
But, i wanted to answer, Gina, I think. When you give donations to the Salvation Army, and maybe Goodwill, too, they have people to work on them, in order to try to get them to work. But, they may have received too many, and could not get them to work, that they don't want anymore.
Some of the men that work in the Salvation Army stores, live in a residence they provide, and they work on things, and then put them out in the store for sale.
The men have possibly been druggies, winos, alcoholics, etc. and are trying to get off of these things.

[Marsha Gupton]

Hi Anne

I took the printers there because I had been told that they could work on them and sell them in the store. When I arrived I was told they did not accept printers. That was fine. I was able to give them to a small computer shop close to my house.

I would never make a donation to Goodwill under false pretenses which the poster was referring that I did.

Anyway, that was a small part of the post and I found it interesting how we many times focus on a negative; rather than the positive which was that the homeless man enjoyed the food we gave him and he prayed and thanked God.

[Donna Adams]

Thank you Marsha for using the word "WE."

[Barb Bouldrey]

I had no idea that Goodwill would try to repair broken things that were donated. I knew they would mend clothes.

So this is a new thing to me. If I had a broken computer or typewriter or toaster or whatever, I never would have thought to try to see if Goodwill would take it. I would pitch it.

At least it was worth it to see if they would take the printers. I know we put used printers in the church yard sale and they did not sell.

Sometimes when I ask a question about something someone says in a thread I am just being curious. It happens to me all the time. I post a thread about something and someone comments on something I said that was not related to the main thought of my post.

Learn something new every day...even at my old age.

Barb

[Dana Grant]

My husband found a company that will accept nonfunctioning items such as fax machines and printers, etc., and will repair and sell them. The reason that he sought out such a company was because he doesn't want to fill the landfill with broken machines if it's possible to fix and use them a little while longer.

There's a place in Tucson where once a month you can take things like old paint cans, broken machines, etc., and they will accept them for disposal; I don't know if they recycle parts of the items or what, but Bert is always taking things there such as fluorescent lightbulbs, batteries, paint cans, etc. Lindsey is the cleaning person for a doctor's office, and Bert recycles their cardboard boxes, florescent lightbulbs, etc. He's a very "green" kinda guy, that Bert!!

[Gina Stevenson]

But, i wanted to answer, Gina, I think.

Nope, wasn't me. I added a note re having known about the machine-repairing GoodWill & some others do. ;)

[Glenda Harvey]

A man who attends our Church repairs computers. After the last fire he was taking old computer parts and printers, repairing them and giving them to people who had lost their homes (and thus their computers) in the fires. I have heard of organizations that do this type of thing for low income families who have high school students who need computers for school. It never hurts to ask.

[Anne and Dwayne Hood]

Marsha, I know it means a lot to help someone who is hungry. I remember fixing a plate of fresh vegetables for a young woman, one day. While I turned to get a fork for her, she had begun to dig into the food with her fingers. It is sad to see people hungry. But, I thought Goodwill would take a computers, printers, etc. like the Salvation Army will.
Our church pianist has a son that works with the Salvation Army. An officer has taken him under his wings, and tries to take him with him, whenever he transfers to another city. He has tried for a long time to stay off drugs, and would go back to them. We are so glad someone is helping him.
His dad died unexpectedly in the early nineties. Then, two years later his older brother committed suicide. His mother was a stay at home mother, and married to a Military (retired) career man, working another career. She was struggling to stay afloat, work and care for her children. She had no idea, her older son was trying to fill his dad's place, until she read the note he left.

[Andrea Larabee]

Regarding broken printers.... sometimes they take them because parts can be refurbished and other parts can be sold as used but in good condition.

My parents donated a car to an organization once. That's what they did, they sold parts off of it. If the car is salvageable it can be repaired enough to be driven again.