Maybe Im wrong but this made me really, really POed

I am a vet.This just boils my potatoes !! I worked very hard to get my LEGION post and others to donate kits.I for one ALSO recieve the kits as part of my therapy (I was told it,s not polite to go against doctors orders) . I do feel that after its built there is no problem.There are vets that AUDIE MURPHY here in SAN ANTONIO would avail themselves of the service but after seeing the kits they originally wanted at a flea market they would pass. The kits are meant to be built as part of ones therapy for whatever reason.The program here(I am sure because of this) now requires a recent photo , or the showing of the completed model to get another one.This makes it very hard for vets who are housebound and cannot get to the rec. dept.on wednesdays to get another . not to exclude yhose who cannot get the kit they want because they are all gone !!  sorry, I get upset when I see this kind of thing.I do buy these kits and re-donate them so a vet can get a model!    tankerbuilder

When I was in the VA hospital guys were given models and crafts to help inprove their motor skills as well as mental skills.This helped a lot with guys that had wounds to their arms and hands as it got them or should I say made them use them in order to put the model together.As far as guys with the mental injuries or problems the models and different crafts made them think which the doctors said was great brain exercise! If I'm not mistaken what the guy at the flea market was doing is a Federal offense.

I wonder how the guy got them in the first place.

I am active in the local area's United Way and Salvation Army charities.  I toured one facility of the Salvation Army and was shocked when I went into their warehouse and literally saw a mound of donated clothing that was stacked about 50 feet high and was probably three times that size at the base...I asked them what it was all about and the basic answer was that they received far more clothing than they knew what to do with...hate to say it, but makes me think twice about charities now...

Now things like that REALLY get me mad, the throwing out crayons and coloring books thing.

I mean... WTF  is it to much to send them back to the charity 'we have to much, please forward them to a different hospital?  Or to just donate them to a boys or girl's home?

Very complex and multifaceted issue actually -

I would have asked, even in a humorous way, about the sticker. Approaching a sticky situation with humor (NOT sarcasm) is a good way to get some honest answers. i would have taken out my military ID and asked "Hey, I am a Vet, can I just take this for free as the sticker says?" (with a big smile on my face). The person's reaction will tell you all you need to know.

As for vets selling THEIR stuff... very common, unfortunately. Just do a search in ebay... you see recently returned young vets selling their medals, ribbons, gear, models, whatever. Dunno the why; bad times, just dont care, or extra cash on the side. And yes, I reported to ebay the couple sailors selling their foot locker with reg unis.

Most "charity" companies keep up to 90% of donations as "administrative costs". Or they get too much "stuff' they have no clue what to do with it (i saw once, in a children cancer ward, the workers throwing away boxes of crayons, coloring books, etc. They asked ME if I wanted some... why? They had HUNDREDS of more boxes of the same stuff and had no more storage space...).

If I want to do something for a vet, I do not donate a kit or wear a ribbon or stick a doo dad on my car. I make sure my local representative and senator are supporting Walter Reed and send money to the Fisher house. Skip the middleman, go to the source. But if you MUST send a model to a veteran... PM me, Ill give you my home address, you can never have enough Dragon smart kits, P51s or WWII ships ;)

One of the ongoing issues with the earthquake relief in Haiti is the gov't corruption. Containers sent in by relief agencies sit on the docks waiting for "payment of duties" to be released so they can be shipped inland. Old ways die hard. In most countries around the world, relief supplies are exempt of any duties and taxes...not so there apparently.  Even the Cuban gov't is frustrated with this problem, they are seeing their donated supplies being held for ransom.

the doog

All of this speculation and anger might have been avoided if you had just talked to the man and asked hi what the situation was. That's exactly what I would have done. It seems kinda silly for you to be pissed off and giving people the opportunity to trash the reputation of the parties involved without finding out exactly what was going on.

 I don't know why people are so afraid to confront people and to speak out to those whom they suspect might be doing something unethical? To me, it's as natural as rain.

Simple questions go a long way toward resolving "issues"

By the way, shouldn't the correct acronym be P'd O?

I appreciate smeagol's bringing the matter to the atn. of the forum. I used to work swap-meets in the Phoenix AZ area back about 15 years ago, selling cheap bicycle parts.I have to say that there were some really sketchy things I saw all around. I don't think confronting a vendor at one of those things is a really good idea...further, the guy might have just gotten a bunch of the models as a job lot and was selling by the piece.

Checking out the "charity" online makes me VERY suspicious.Their admin costs are 65% or thereabouts, and the 2 company directors are making close to $300 k each in annual salary. Whether or not they are legit, they do not seem to be able to deliver their services in a cost-effective way. There are other charities (like DAV) that will spend the money more wisely.

I had some experience working in Southern Africa about 25 years ago.It was really sad to see most of the donated food aid being grabbed by the powerful and sold in local stores. Also, be careful of those donation boxes you see for clothes, books, etc. A lot of this ends up in profit-making thrift shops.

All of this speculation and anger might have been avoided if you had just talked to the man and asked hi what the situation was. That's exactly what I would have done. It seems kinda silly for you to be pissed off and giving people the opportunity to trash the reputation of the parties involved without finding out exactly what was going on.

 I don't know why people are so afraid to confront people and to speak out to those whom they suspect might be doing something unethical? To me, it's as natural as rain.

Mad-Modeler

I don't think Dr Faust meant the Smeagol would leave but that interchanges like that do drive away more casual posters/lurkers, etc.

yeah, That's it.  Thanks Mad-Modeler

I don't think Dr Faust meant the Smeagol would leave but that interchanges like that do drive away more casual posters/lurkers, etc.

Dr. Faust

bbrowniii:

smeagol the vile:

Gerald, that is exactly why I did not say anything to him. 

 

Which is where I think you went wrong.  Don't get on here and *** about how PO'd you were if you were not PO'd enough to DO SOMETHING about it.  Like Gerald said, there might be a perfectly valid explanation.  Or maybe not.  But you (and we) will never know because you didn't ask.

Stop whining.

 

And people wonder why this forum is losing participants.

Nah... you see Faust, I know that Smeagol is made of 'firmer stuff' and he isn't going to let my crankiness drive him off.  I knew he'd either fire back at me or just blow me off (which he did).  I knew he wouldn't go all 'Schnobs' on me.... 

bbrowniii

smeagol the vile:

Gerald, that is exactly why I did not say anything to him. 

 

Which is where I think you went wrong.  Don't get on here and *** about how PO'd you were if you were not PO'd enough to DO SOMETHING about it.  Like Gerald said, there might be a perfectly valid explanation.  Or maybe not.  But you (and we) will never know because you didn't ask.

Stop whining.

And people wonder why this forum is losing participants.

If we all could just stick to....sticking plastic together.  If I tried I might of been able to make that rhyme.

Dr

You didn't have to get in a fight.  How about, 'Hey, dude, what's up with this sticker...?'

If he gives a reasonable answer, great.  If not, you could just say, 'That's not cool, man' and walk away.

No swords necessary...

Maybe I didnt wana get into a big bruha and possibly end up in a fight with a guy that had swords on his table over that sticker

smeagol the vile

Gerald, that is exactly why I did not say anything to him. 

Which is where I think you went wrong.  Don't get on here and *** about how PO'd you were if you were not PO'd enough to DO SOMETHING about it.  Like Gerald said, there might be a perfectly valid explanation.  Or maybe not.  But you (and we) will never know because you didn't ask.

Stop whining.

HawkeyeHobbies

There are a lot of Vets out there who are living well below the poverty level, many too are homeless. Think about it this way...here and on other forums we read about our fellow modelers considering or selling off their stash for some quick cash to support themselves and their families. It could be just about anything of value, including models.

Had the stickers been removed no one would have squawked. However he didn't and without knowing the whole story...well maybe he couldn't donate them back, maybe the organization didn't want them or maybe he needed money to pay for something else.

There are a lot of Vets out there who are living well below the poverty level, many too are homeless. Think about it this way...here and on other forums we read about our fellow modelers considering or selling off their stash for some quick cash to support themselves and their families. It could be just about anything of value, including models.

Had the stickers been removed no one would have squawked. However he didn't and without knowing the whole story...well maybe he couldn't donate them back, maybe the organization didn't want them or maybe he needed money to pay for something else.

HawkeyeHobbies

Let's just think about this in a rational manner for a moment. Maybe these kits were given to a Veteran who lost interest in building them. Maybe someone along the line made a nice donation and the kits were given to the person who in turn gave or sold them to someone else. These kits may have served their intended purpose and have since gone on to other purposes.

I've got kits kits with various stickers from clubs, organizations and what not that I acquired over the years through purchases and trades.Even have a few from Boys and Girls Club which I swapped aircraft for cars with the kids who wanted to trade...either way they got what they wanted and the kits served the purpose they were intended for...giving kids who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to have a model kit.

Before you get too PO'd, ask for more information from the vendor. Maybe someone dumped them on him.

Just a thought.

Oh and if I dig around here a bit, I can probably lay my hands on some of the stuff they gave me when I was in the military medevac system and hospitals...blankets, cups, games, toys, nic nacs...organizations were always giving gifts to hospitalized military and Vets. Most of the stuff I left behind leaving it for the next guy, but some I kept. I can remember the tons of donated stuff brought back from GW1...we could have stocked a store with it. Stuff people kept sending that the troops didn't need or even want! But the host country said...if you packed it in, you pack it out! We don't want your trash left behind so our guys hauled it all back home. I had cases of hand moisturizer, pens, paper, envelopes...toiletries just tons of stuff! Most ended up in our shops dumpster cause no one wanted most of it...not even the local charities because it has been overseas and not considered new and unopened...that's another story.

Well if they were donated to him, which I doubt, then why should he make a buck off of them? 

Let's assume for the sake of argument they were though. If he doesn't want them anymore he should donate them back to the charity where he got them so that they could fulfill their purpose... 

Ditto on the Sundries Pacs we got in GW1, Hawk...  So much stuff was sent, we were still getting stuff after we'd been back home for 6 months... The Supply Daddy was goin' crazy trying to clear out his room...

He should have removed the stickers.

Best functional gift I ever got while in the hospital ( I think at Fitzsimmons in Denver), a nice knitted warming 1/2 size blanket.. A group of ladies from the local American Legion made them and dropped them off to our ward. It was warm and cozy..even if it was in the Denver Broncos colors! LOL

Gerald, that is exactly why I did not say anything to him.  I didn't buy them because I did not feel right with those stickers on them.

Let's just think about this in a rational manner for a moment. Maybe these kits were given to a Veteran who lost interest in building them. Maybe someone along the line made a nice donation and the kits were given to the person who in turn gave or sold them to someone else. These kits may have served their intended purpose and have since gone on to other purposes.

I've got kits kits with various stickers from clubs, organizations and what not that I acquired over the years through purchases and trades.Even have a few from Boys and Girls Club which I swapped aircraft for cars with the kids who wanted to trade...either way they got what they wanted and the kits served the purpose they were intended for...giving kids who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to have a model kit.

Before you get too PO'd, ask for more information from the vendor. Maybe someone dumped them on him.

Just a thought.

Oh and if I dig around here a bit, I can probably lay my hands on some of the stuff they gave me when I was in the military medevac system and hospitals...blankets, cups, games, toys, nic nacs...organizations were always giving gifts to hospitalized military and Vets. Most of the stuff I left behind leaving it for the next guy, but some I kept. I can remember the tons of donated stuff brought back from GW1...we could have stocked a store with it. Stuff people kept sending that the troops didn't need or even want! But the host country said...if you packed it in, you pack it out! We don't want your trash left behind so our guys hauled it all back home. I had cases of hand moisturizer, pens, paper, envelopes...toiletries just tons of stuff! Most ended up in our shops dumpster cause no one wanted most of it...not even the local charities because it has been overseas and not considered new and unopened...that's another story.

Did you ask the guy at the Flea market 'WTF'??!!  What did he say?

Yes, this should make you POed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Chapin

Looks like they are a scam.

My wife is the Missouri Veterans Ombudsman and I asked he to check into these guys, because they work in St Louis, also.

If it was a store I definatley would, but being a flea market I think it might be fruitless.

wow.... bogus operation it looks to me... or as close to bogus with out going to jail... ( again, from what I've read here and at the sight listed)..