016: How to Manage Charitable Donations Post-Disaster with Jake Bentz

How to Disaster

“It’s either you have resiliency or you don't. It's more of a character trait. But I think the willingness to try something new and be wrong is probably my closest definition of that word. A lot of willingness to try—that's exciting!” -Jake Bentz

Episode Description:

Charitable giving surges during periods of natural disaster. In a time when the heartstrings are being tugged and people are donating like crazy, it is easy to be overwhelmed with donations.

Unfortunately, most items donated to shelters do not suit the immediate needs of survivors. As a result, donations often do not reach their intended target. Hence, it is important for organizations to set up stations dedicated to managing donated items following a disaster.

Santiam Hospital’s Donation Distribution Coordinator, Jake Bentz started volunteering in this field as a young 18-year-old. Little did he know that his passion would grow fast and big. Today, he continues to explore possible avenues to offer support in disaster recovery.

In this episode, Jake talks about his work around managing and distributing donations to wildfire survivors, how an influx of donations can cause secondary disaster, and what donations are tagged for immediate needs and which are for long-term recovery. Jake also relates the challenges and benefits of being a young leader and how the younger generation can contribute to disaster response efforts.

If you are someone who is passionate about giving back and supporting causes you are concerned about, this episode is for you!

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Highlights:

01:05: The Best of Mankind

08:47: Service Integration

12:13: Donations- Potential Secondary Disaster

17:07: How Donations Are Distributed

20:26: Donations- For Now

27:16: Donations- For Later

29:44 The Challenges and Benefits of Being a Young Leader

33:03: The Younger Generation and Resiliency