Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 837

I have had to schedule a pick up with VVT and that was so easy.
They pick up whether rain or shine and they accept anything unlike other donation centers.
Will always donate to VVT.

I’m a professional organizer who takes donations away for my clients. I’ve tried a bunch of donation companies and thrift shops, and the VVA has been the easiest to use by far. I just schedule a pickup online, and I can sometimes get one as soon as the next day (I can even schedule on Sunday for a Monday pickup), but always within a week. I put the stuff out on my front porch the night before, and at some point that day, it vanishes. They will even accept toys, which many charities do not. Also, I have had bad experiences with Big Brother Big Sister and the Epilepsy Foundation sometimes not coming when they said they will. The VVA has *always* come on schedule. I might have a different experience if I had to be home when they arrived, but so far, it’s been nothing but awesome. Oh, and when I do encounter a driver, he is always polite and professional.

This is a review for their donation process, not for the organization itself.
Scheduling a pickup is very easy and convenient. It can be done online or over the phone. I entered how many bags or boxes of items I had, where they would be placed (in back of the house in my case), and special instructions on my address since I live on one of those streets that has duplicate house numbers (like 100, 100A, 100R). The special instructions box claims it allows 100 characters but in reality it was more like 50.
Well I followed the directions exactly and had my items out and clearly labelled well before 8am on the day of the pickup. Well I get home and everything is still there, but there was a receipt in my mailbox. Huh? Well I called the number on the receipt and it’s just a recorded message. Every selection on the phone tree just leads you back to scheduling another pickup.
What I believed happened is the driver didn’t bother to read the donation form to see my items were in back of the house or possibly didn’t want to take a 40 foot walk from the street to the backyard. There’s not even a fence.
If the drivers are not going to pick up anything that isn’t located directly on the curb (and at huge risk of theft), do not give us the option of placing donations anywhere else. I will probably go back to just driving my stuff to a donation center. It’s easier.

i’m going straight to hell for not liking the vietnam vets but i had a really negative experience with them yesterday. i went online to set up a pick up of items i was getting rid of before i move. the site was vague, saying they would come between 8 – 5 (awesome, i love sitting in my hot empty apartment for 8 hours just waiting) but that i could just put all my boxes out front and labeled for VVA and they would leave my tax return.
well first of i can’t leave my stuff outside because my apartment building manager would throw a fit about ruining the look of it. second, it was stuff like a ladder, a shoe rack, a camp chair and a tv… stuff that isn’t all going nicely into a box. so i made a note that they needed to call me so i could let them in the building so they could get the items.
1:45 rolls around and the driver buzzes me from the lobby. i go down and he’s pissed that i didn’t bring all the items down to the lobby, i am ruining his day, by the way his truck is full already so he doesn’t think he can take everything anyway, so why don’t i just reschedule? like it’s my fault i was his last stop, jesus. also, he won’t take my tv, and he’s not coming in to help me get the stuff down to him.
wow! great! so i have to go up, drag a bunch of crap downstairs and take it out to him. fine. i get half the load down, he throws it in his truck and says «the dispatcher says this is all i can take from you so i’m leaving»
the vets are a good organization to support, but their donation pickup service needs some help with public relations and managing the amount of donations they get. when i got back to my apartment i had a rude message from their dispatcher saying «we told you to put all your stuff outside already — my driver is NOT waiting for you.» thanks for that VVA.