Frequently Asked Questions: Global Distribution?
Crossroads Global Distribution is a non-profit corporation which takes Hong Kong's quality superseded goods and redistributes them to people in need, locally and internationally. We seek to be a crossroads; a place where need and resource intersect.
- How do we work? (click to open/close)
- We seek to serve and support the welfare organisations that are working hard to meet need at the local level. Many such grass-roots organisations lack the funding and international infrastructure they need to do their job. Our goal is to help them fulfill their goal.
- The Crossroads Global Distribution Equation (click to open/close)
"How much of my donated dollar actually reaches the person in need?"
That is the question most often put to charities regarding their
financial policy. Here, the equation is turned the other way around. We
do not send a percentage of a donated dollar to people in need.
Instead, a donated dollar can be 'multiplied' up to 20 times its worth
in the goods it allows us to send internationally. The donated dollar
can be 'multiplied' up to 85 times its worth at the local level, where
processing costs are far lower. Your gift multiplies itself!
- How did it start? (click to open/close)
-
Nobody sat down to create Crossroads Global Distribution. It snowballed into existence and then continued to grow at a rate none of us anticipated.
-
In 1995, we sent 19 cartons of relief supplies. Today, our warehouse has goods equating to 100 x 40' containers.
-
In 1995, we used 170 square feet. Today, we operate from a site that covers 600,000 square feet (14 acres).
-
In 1995, we were distributing relief to one destination. Today, we have requests from 106 countries.
-
In 1995, we processed one consignment at a time. Today, we have more than 200 local orders and over 800 orders from groups around the world.
-
In 1995, our full-time personnel consisted of two people. Today, we have 60 team members and many more volunteers from the community.
-
The growth has astonished us. From the very first project it has been as though a hole opened in the heavens and goods poured into our warehouse, almost flooding it.
- Who donates to Crossroads? (click to open/close)
-
-
Hotels refurbish and give superseded goods
-
Hospitals upgrade and give away older equipment
-
Householders move
-
Manufacturers dispose of stock over-runs, samples or seconds
-
Companies move or refurbish
-
Educational groups upgrade facilities
-
Community groups conduct relief drives
-
Other charities, if given more than they need, pass on surplus goods
The standard of the goods donated in Hong Kong is unusually high. We are delighted when recipients write to say that they are not used to receiving donated goods of such quality.
-
- To whom do we distribute? (click to open/close)
-
Crossroads provides goods to registered organisations working in the following aspects of the welfare spectrum:
-
Orphans
-
The elderly
-
The handicapped
-
Poverty
-
Refugees
-
Disaster victims
-
Medical need
-
Educational need
-
- What kinds of goods? (click to open/close)
-
Current stock includes household furniture, office furniture, classroom furniture, bedding and fabric supplies, medical provision, electrical items, computers, household goods, clothing, stationery, books and educational toys. 
- Where is Crossroads at work? (click to open/close)
-
-
Asia
-
Europe
-
Africa
-
South/Central America
-
Central Asia
-
Middle East
-
- How does need meet resource? (click to open/close)
-
The 'matches' we witness amaze us...
An adult education institute in Kunming, China, asked us for a photocopier which was able to sort into 12 categories. Natwest was moving offices and donated one that sorted into 20 categories!
The Conrad Hotel donated a coffee-maker of commercial size. Shortly afterwards we were approached by a teacher in North West China. She wanted her students to be confident using their English in a social setting, rather than just a classroom. She was therefore opening a coffee shop to give them opportunity to learn.
A school for nomadic children in Western China wanted bunks to provide accommodation, since its students could not live at home when their parents were always on the move. Hong Kong's new airport was closing its construction facilities at the time...and dispensing with 500 bunk beds.
An orphanage in Hainan Island needed to furnish two apartments for its staff. Right at that time, a Hong Kong landlord rang to say she was closing down two apartments which had been recently furnished. Could we use the furniture?
A rehabilitation group in Croatia was building a centre to help restore lives devastated by recent ethnic cleansing. They needed to furnish a guesthouse-type facility, with curtains, bedspreads, lamps, bedroom furniture, etc. The YMCA happened to be re-furbishing at the time and its donated goods met the need in Croatia to perfection. Everything was ideal. Everything matched. The timing was extraordinary.
We see instances of this kind all the time.
- Why do we 'bother' with such goods? (click to open/close)
-
The standard of the goods is always high, often superbly so. We cannot
comprehend the possibility of throwing away such goods when, with
warehousing and careful packing, they can be shipped to the point of
need. There is great competition for the charity dollar and it is hard
to raise large sums of cash for welfare projects. Yet, the same goals
can often be achieved more efficiently by the supply of the goods
themselves. That is what Crossroads Global Distribution is all about.
- How do we know the goods reach those in need? (click to open)
-
We only send to areas where we have a recipient group on the ground to monitor distribution and provide accountability. All the organisations which we help are also required to furnish us with photographic feedback, any press coverage, lists of distribution, etc.
Wherever possible, we visit the consignees to observe the situation first hand. We also include disposable cameras in each of our containers. In the event that we are unable to be on the spot at the time of the container's arrival, these cameras are used to take photos of the goods being unloaded and distributed.
- What is our financial policy? (click to open/close)
-
As a charity, we minimise overheads. We seek, wherever possible, donations in kind rather than cash.
View our audited financial statement 2005 (PDF file)
View our audited financial statement 2006 (PDF file)
View our audited financial statement 2007 (PDF file)
View our audited financial statement 2008 (PDF file)
-
Relief provision: We do not purchase the goods we ship. All are donated.
-
Freight policy: We have never paid for a shipment. Freight services are either given or sponsored.
-
Rent: The HKSAR government has provided our facilities, in the former Perowne Barracks at Tuen Mun, for HK$1 p.a. The government has also provided a portion of the former runway at Kai Tak for container storage for HK$1 p.a.
-
Volunteer system: No team member receives a salary.
- The Crossroads Global Distribution Equation: As already mentioned, a monetary gift can help move goods valued at many times its own worth and, in this way, multiply itself.
-
