Frequently Asked Questions
02-16-2007
Exactly what is a "Virtual Warehouse"?
It's a place for you to log in the items you have available for donating. In essence, it's a web-based database. Think of e-Bay -- the world's largest virtual warehouse. Well, this is "free-Bay" for getting items to people who need them after they lose everything to a disaster.
How does it work?
Each community operates its own Neighbors to the Rescue virtual warehouse. So find the one near you on our list and then click on the "Donate an Item". Then, the different response agencies that are helping the victims of the disaster can look at the list of offers in the virtual warehouse, and match them up with the people they are helping.
What kinds of items are needed?
As disasters unfold, the needs change through time. At the beginning, the needs are very simple -- emergency relief, shelter, food, comfort. After a little while, some of the other necessities in life become needed -- household items and pantry items, for instance. There is always a need for trucking services to move things around. And gift cards are helpful at every stage of recovery.
Where do I take the items I'm donating?
We're hoping you'll "warehouse them in place" until we can find a suitable match. That can take up to a few weeks, depending on the nature of the donation and the disaster. You'll indicate on the "Donate an Item" page just how long you're willing to hang onto the item, and we'll try to find a match before that date. If not, we encourage you to take it to a Goodwill or Salvation Army drop-off location in your neighborhood.
Who will contact me after I donate an item to the Neighbors to the Rescue virtual warehouse?
You'll get an automatic response once your offer has been read by the person coordinating the "inventory". At that point, your offer will be made available to the volunteer team leaders who are working with families after the disaster. A volunteer may contact you by e-mail or by phone to inquire more about the item to see if it's a good fit for the family they are helping.
Do the volunteers come and pick up the items?
You'll be encouraged to either take the items directly to where they are needed or you may be asked to get it as far as a drop-off point, and a volunteer can pick it up from there. We don't operate a pick-up service, and sometimes we need help figuring out how to move big items such as sofas or beds.