Disaster Relief: Ways to Prepare Your Organization

While summer might mean sunscreen, hot dogs, and lazy days at the pool for some, for disaster relief organizations, it’s a great time to evaluate preparations and procedures for potential weather-related emergencies. Although May is National Wildfire Awareness month, it’s not just wildfires that are cause for concern in the summer. As the mercury rises, many parts of the country are also at a higher risk for hurricanes, tornadoes, and powerful summer storms.

Now more than ever, communities rely on non-profits and disaster relief programs to provide necessary supplies and expertise, making this the perfect time to ensure you are ready and able to help when called.

Make sure your supplies are well stocked

One of the most important and simplest steps you can take is to take inventory of all the supplies you currently have on hand. When an emergency hits, you won’t have time to go digging through your supplies or spend time wondering if you have enough. You also want to go through the items you have in stock and make sure they are not expired or are still in good condition. You want to be sure you’ve thought of everything you might need before, during, and after disaster strikes.

With DollarDays new Emergency Prepardedness line, we can help you manage all the supplies you’ll need to help your communities through any kind of natural disaster or emergency situation. We’ve got quality products for cleanup recovery like trash bags and sturdy buckets, first-aid kits and supplies like bandages and antiseptic creams, a wide selection of non-perishable food items, and more.

Buying these supplies wholesale can help your organization save money so you help save more people.

Ask for Donations

Natural disasters and other unexpected emergencies are devastating. The good news is they often bring out the best in our neighbors and communities. People want to help. As the frequency with which these events occur, almost everyone knows someone touched by a catastrophic event. Chances are, they still remember how difficult that time was and want to help ensure no one has to live through what they did by providing disaster relief assistance.

However, many people don’t really know where to start. Asking for donations is a great way for your organization to increase its supplies, and for individuals to feel good about contributing. Even those outside communities hit hard often sit back and wish there was more they could do. Donating is a powerful action anyone can take.

DollarDays is committed to making it easy and affordable to make a huge impact with critically needed items for any disaster. Non-profits, schools, or even families can make charitable donations for the items your organization needs most. Don’t be shy about asking for donations!

Encourage people to volunteer with your organization

Another step your disaster relief organization can take to help prepare, is to actively encourage volunteers to help both during an emergency and during calmer periods. Before a crisis hits is the perfect time for organizations to recruit disaster relief volunteers.

No community is immune from potential disasters. As wild weather continues to become more the norm, disaster relief volunteers are more important than ever. Volunteers can make a huge difference in your community by extending their time and expertise.

Reach out to local religious institutions, corporations, and local officials to spread the word about volunteering with your organization. Invite former volunteers to share their experiences and how rewarding this work can be through social media and other channels of communication.

Preparing for a natural disaster is critical for most communities. We’ve come to rely on help of disaster relief organizations to heed the call when emergencies happen, but you don’t have to do it alone. DollarDays is proud to stock everything from fresh blankets to hygiene kits to survival gear so you can focus on helping people recover.


Wholesale Toy Store

Introducing our 2020 Wholesale Toy Catalog!

We are very excited to announce the release of our 2020 Wholesale Toy Catalog. This year there is likely going to be supply issues as we move into the holiday shopping season. We know the popular toys usually sell out first, so we can expect those to sell out even earlier this year. We also anticipate that the number of children who will be in need of toy donations will be much greater than in any years past. We highly encourage people to purchase their toys early to make sure kids in need will have something under the tree.

Each year we work to expand our assortment of toys that are available in bulk. We are excited to announce some exciting brands have been added to our line up including Barbie, Disney and Crayola.

As we mentioned, with the pandemic impacting supplies of toys this year, we suggest make your purchases early to make sure you get the toys you need for your missions. Visit our Toy Shop where we have made finding the right toys by age, price and category easy as pie.

Donating your Time and Money: Choosing the Right Nonprofit

According to Statista, in 2015, “there were about 1,088,447 public charities” in the U.S. If you’re a volunteer or a group of volunteers looking for the right mission to donate your time and money to, that’s a lot of options. At that point it’s important to make sure you choose a reputable organization, with similar goals. To help guide you, we’ve listed a few helpful tips to keep in mind when donating your time and money to the right nonprofit:

1. Make Sure Your Values Align

This may seem the most obvious, but it is also one of the most important things to keep in mind when working with a nonprofit. Since many nonprofits have missions focused on community betterment, they tend to have a list of core values that inform how they go about those missions.

For example, an organization like the Salvation Army has a very strong religious foundation that is integral to how they conduct themselves and their projects. Some people could have similar backgrounds and so that’s a great selling point which allows them to get on board with the mission right away. For others, they may like some of the projects, but if the motivations aren’t the same it can be hard staying engaged. Therefore, it’s important to take the time and research why a nonprofit is engaging in the work they do to make sure it resonates with you on a personal level.

2. Understand Their Needs

Since we work with nonprofits everyday, we have definitely learned the importance of listening first. Enthusiasm for your chosen nonprofit is great, but it’s only half the battle. Make sure you are communicating with the organization so that you understand their needs and can help them make the largest impact. You could excitedly show up with a trunk full of toy donations, only to find out they recently finished their toy drive and really need socks.

Many nonprofits will utilize a wish list or newsletter to communicate their up-to-date needs. The important thing is to reach out before leaping into action.

3. Avoid Shady Organizations and Scams

Unfortunately, some organizations will pop up soliciting donations for a crisis or some urgent project that are less than reputable. This is when research really comes in handy. It’s easy to get swept up in the moment, because you want to help and don’t want to waste time. I promise, though, you’ll be glad to take the extra moment to dig a little deeper.

One tip is to just start with searching the name of the organization and add “complaints” or “scam”. More likely than not, if they are illegitimate, someone is already talking about it. If you want to go even deeper, there are also helpful tools like GuideStar to help you vet a nonprofit.

Finding a local chapter of nationally recognized organizations like United Way or Kiwanis is a great start for working with legitimate groups. Legitimate or not, you should never be shy to ask probing questions. Make sure you know how successful an organization has been with it’s missions and resources. That could be the deciding factor for if their are worth your hard work and money.

Charity and philanthropy are beautiful things and we applaud all those you participate in it. When you are able to find that mission you truly connect with, it makes it all the more rewarding.

If you are looking for ways to support your local charity through needed essentials, considering shopping wholesale with DollarDays.