Freecycle and demographics...

I used Freecycle a lot in Somerville. I was able to give away a lot of things before we moved, and over the two years we lived there, I was able to get some of the things we needed for the house for free. I decided to sign back up again once we moved. It's an amazing contrast between the group up north and the one down south.

Up north, people would ask for things to help with fundraisers, projects, home improvement, and the like. Sometimes they'd ask for replacement items. The messages were straightforward, stating what the person wanted or was giving away, and that was it.

Down here, though, Freecycle seems to be used more for people who are desperately poor. I've gotten messages through the list asking for things like food for a single mom and her children. Clothes for a disabled person. Working cell phones because the person's second-hand one finally gave out. And each of them are written in a begging or pleading manner. Some of them end with a "God bless" like the signs homeless people hold. I almost find Freecycling down here pretty depressing, as opposed to up north where it was more amusing as to what people were trading.

I put up a listing for a bunch of random things that I think would be good prizes for a school or church carnival. I heard back from one person with Big Brothers Big Sisters and another from a local elementary school. The items were collected, but those were the only two responses. In Somerville, I would have gotten a boat-load of responses from people who get frothy about repurposing things.

I almost feel bad giving away more frivolous things on Freecycle down here. Up north, it was the culture of reuse/recycle/make no impact. It goes along with why Freecycle was started in the first place. Down here, it's charity. I'm having a hard time reconciling the two.

I dropped off a bunch of clothes at the Goodwill, and I think I may just use the Goodwill to make donations instead of using Freecycle as much for the meantime. Maybe it'll become a better resource for me when we buy a house and need to find inexpensive ways to fix up things or decorate. I know it sounds bad, but I'd almost be more willing to give away something I'm not using if the requester doesn't give the whole sad story along with it. If the posts down here were more straightforward without a back story, I think I'd be more likely to give. I don't know what that says about me, other than maybe I get resentful when people try to guilt me into doing things (I blame Sara McLaughlin and her ASPCA ads).