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OPINION: Thought needs to be put into making gifts useful

When something terrible happens, people always want to help. The events of April 6 is a perfect example. More than $15.2 million was raised from a GoFundMe page to help those players and families affected by the collision. The SJHL had $1.

When something terrible happens, people always want to help.

The events of April 6 is a perfect example. More than $15.2 million was raised from a GoFundMe page to help those players and families affected by the collision. The SJHL had $1.4 million raised to support a program that will provide mental health support for players, coaches and volunteers. People have donated directly to the first responders that attended to the crash.

The good thing about money is that those receiving can use it to buy exactly what they need, eliminating the need to guess.

Yet money is also impersonal, especially in a province where there’s a tradition of getting together when something goes wrong and helping out those that were hurt.

So people end up giving other items as a way to make their efforts to help more personal.

While those receiving those gifts are thankful for the time, effort and money to send them, sometimes what they are gifted might not necessary be what’s needed.

That’s why we have the team and the City of Humboldt scrambling to figure out how to use these gifts in the most effective way.

I’m not saying that people should stop being generous, but I do think there sometimes needs to be more communication between those sending the gift and those receiving it before the gift itself is sent. With that discussion could come ways to use resources and talents in a better way that helps everybody.

Yet when in doubt, money is probably the best way to go.