40
The percentage of Americans
45-plus who eat dinner at
home every night of the week
Trends
Why some nonprofits
don’t want your old TV
Charities
Get Choosy
B Y LAURA DAILY
Planning to turn your clutter into end-of-year donations? Not so fast.
Many human-service charities won’t take certain items—or will require
you to transport them yourself. Patricia Donovan, of Buffalo, New York,
tried to donate furniture sets and 500 near-new books. “The charities I
called either didn’t have a truck or wouldn’t come into my second-floor
apartment,” says the 64-year-old editor, whose home goods also were
turned down on-site. “There’s a gap between what charities say they
need and what they will accept.”
With fewer people giving to charities—blame the economy—being
denied can be puzzling. But these groups usually say no for a reason.
