in turn is subject to the scope and importance that the media provides for such a situation. In 2008, for
example, the national media covered the environmental disaster in Blumenau and this has generated large
volumes of donations, so that the city itself did not know how to manage the large volume of goods
received.
Experience in previous floods helped to control these donations process. Initially, gas revenues that were
replaced as new donations came were created. These changes occurred in three distinct situations in all
public places, until they established a fixed location as a reference point for collecting, centralizing all
donations received.
As analysis of the interviews all collections were directed to the collection center, including those who
came from entities and individuals from the city itself. The collection center was responsible for receiving,
sorting and organizing kits, which subsequently were referred to shelters and stations of supplies scattered
throughout the city. All coordinators of these shelters and stations needed to make their requests to the
collection center.
It was also evident in the interviews the conditions under which these donations came to the central
storage. As coordinator of the central collections “in some cases donations with short maturity, or even
overcome, is the solution of a problem for anyone who is donating [...] and the beginning of a problem for
those who are getting.” Clothing and shoes were often in precarious situations without the use condition,
requiring more volunteers for this activity and generating large volumes of waste.
Moreover, almost due or even outside the expiration date foods were received. Initially it was impossible
to verify the validity of the products, because our priority was to serve those affected. After this first phase,
it was possible to examine the validity dates, and this process resulted in the elimination of many products.
For Day et al. (2012) and Van Wassenhove and Martinez (2012) donations received are determined by what
the donor wants to donate, and this can be a problem for anyone who is receiving it.