What if people donated to charities instead of leaving flowers, teddy bears, candles, etc.

[japple]

at sites where mass shootings or other tragedies occurred? I looked at the picture on this news story and thought there must have been thousands of dollars that could have gone to worthy organizations. What happens to all this stuff anyway? Does it just get swept in the dumpster?

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/16/1081168604/sandy-hook-families-remington-gun-industry

[CrispyQ]

1. I've wondered, too, what happens to all of it. -nt

[pidge]

2. Absolutely agree.

[LakeArenal]

3. It goes to children's hospitals and some old folks homes

People express grief in their own way.

Stuffed animals and flowers a comforting to the giver.

[marked50]

6. Agree. Been there- grieved that- action has come later as a result--thx

[abqtommy]

4. Here are search results to help us all find out which charities are ethical and which

are not. It's good to know who's "worthy" and who's not.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=List+of+ethical+and+non-ethical+charities&ia=web

[old guy]

5. Do both?

[canetoad]

7. I wish they would

Recently I saw some photos of the flowers after Diana's death. The flowers don't last but the cellophane they were wrapped in is forever.

[JI7]

8. Most of that is donated . People who leave that also likely donate to charity

Things like stuffed animals are given to kids in hospitals and other places.

[japple]

9. The flowers wrapped in cello that die within hours, stuffed toys that get rained/snowed on?

I am not criticizing anyone that feels the need to grieve. I'm thinking that we, as a society, need to find a more environmental friendly way to grieve. We don't need for children to release balloons to send a message to someone in heaven. We really don't even need balloons as they are a scourge on the environment, esp. those mylar monstrosities. They kill wildlife all over the planet as they are ingested by turtles, fish, whales, dolphins. Birds get tangled in the cords, ribbons that are used to send these messages to those in heaven. Those candles in jars are probably dumped in the nearest dumpster. Please folks, help encourage others to be more environmentally responsible. Sending an e-donation to an environmentally friendly organization is the way to go. It will set us free.

Sorry if this is considered a rant. I consider it to be part of my public service. Thank you very much.

[Sympthsical]

10. My ND went to war over this

There's a chain link fence near an overpass to the local highway entrance. About a year and a half ago, a young woman was shot and killed near the overpass over some kind of personal conflict between her boyfriend and another man.

Since then, flowers, candles, t-shirts, toys, etc., have been piled up and woven into the fence. The stuff always gets replaced. Sometimes it's a pile. I drive past it whenever I get on or off the highway.

Anyway, Next Door gonna Next Door, and people started complaining about it, that it was an eyesore, that it kept needing to be cleaned up, that it was a waste of money, etc. Others came back calling others heartless and lacking empathy.

Oh, it was a beaut of a rumble. I said nothing, because I never say anything on that thing, because I am not a crazy person. I keep forgetting to see if anything came of it.

But strong opinions were strong.