As for the post on the solon board I do think that was someone other than Denise because Denise posted on the Aurora board as “dudz” and it was “switchcloser” on the Solon board. I think some over zealous volunteer probably did this but shame on that person as well. What is wrong with my fellow Aurora residents that they are using such poor judgement in the name of “helping the schools.” Again, what kind of an example is this?

Suzi, you did quote me on something I didn’t say but I’m sure you just sited the wrong post. I wish you well and will definitely be bringing my friends to the next Budget Bin. You obviously do just as much volunteer work as Denise but had the integrity to come up with your own wording. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed even by your neighbors to the south.

Aurora Resident – how could I ever have offered to help when I was never approached? Your comment makes no sense. As we had said BEFORE…..had we been approached we would have gone out of our way to assist. But, we were nver given the opportunity or the courtesy.

“I” should have called her???? What about her calling us when she took our information? Why not call us after it was made public that she took our info and used our name in her publicity….the blame lies at her feet where it belongs….maybe her hurt is guilt. Notice something….my name is here and yours is not, so now who is hiding????

I cannot answer the what if it happened to me because it would not have happened to me…….I would have had the courtesy to speakk with someone before taking their information and words as my own. AND, I would NEVER use the good name of someone else’s sale to promote my own sale…..unethical and illegal.

I would think she would be more concerned by the people in her own school district who are complaining about the money going to benefit sports. Butm that was her choice.

I had said I was done with the subject…..but if you want to continue this and keep the wounds open…..go for it and blame nobody but yourselves. Catty or catty?

Even though we are not happy with the way this was done, we still wish Aurora well…..helping people is never wrong. Good luck with your football field.

My last post here…..
Suzi

When I’ve read some of these posts all I see is more criticism of a volunteer trying to do something good. How would you feel if you were being attacked in a public forum? I know how I would feel and while I would like to have empathy for your concerns all I see is someone taking a positive action and turning it into a negative action.

As for Suzi- You have wasted so much time with these caddy notes- get off your soapbox & get a life!

Thanks for understanding our feelings about this. We absolutely would have helped anyone who wanted to set up a similar sale.

We would have, however, asked them to use a little of their own creativity to come up with different wording perhaps. I don’t think it would ever have ocurred to me to ask someone to not use our name in their advertising. I think that if you would not do something, you would not expect others to do it either.

Denise mentioned that she had been at our sale…even this past Fall and our recent Spring Sale. She had ample opportunities to speak with us; it would have been the right thing to do. But, she missed that chance. We could have been helpful in so many ways including our publicity points.

We don’t begrudge anyone from such a worthy cause. We are all about helping as many as we can. From the consignors, shoppers, students, charities to the needy families that are invited to come and take whatever ever they want free of charge, we make sure everything has a home and we use none of the proceeds for our expenses.

One of my co-chairs is the daughter of one of the women who originally started Budget Bin back in the 1950’s and she also won a scholarship many years ago. So, you can imagine her disappointment when we came across this.

I’ve said my piece and now I am done…off to more important things.

btw…..we do have our sale dates for the next Fall and Spring Sales. I do hope that Aurora at least has some respect with their timing. If not, then we can only assume it would be intentional.

October 21 – 27, 2009
March 17 – 23, 2010

Thanks,
Suzi

Suzi

I did happen to write up our fliers and other information. So, yes, I can be protective of them. From your post, I gather that you are involved with the sale.

Ths fact that someone would use my exact words without even saying a word is wrong, unethical and if you can’t see that, I can only say we all have different moral and ethical standards.

I have no problem with them having a similar sale….so if you actually read what I wrote, my initial intentions were to offer to put out their fliers. Tell me, how does that show anger? We have been contacted by groups in cities local and out of Ohio who happened up on our ads. We have sent them our files and spoke with them on the phone to offer our assistance. I contact a number of local groups who have sales near ours and always have a table with their fliers. So, we have been more than cooperative, fair and all in good faith. Actually, we swap fliers with many groups. We help each other out up front. We would have done the same if we had been asked. But, rather than ask, they just felt it was fine to use my own words and our name.

However, we all were angry to see that Denise and her volunteers posted their sale using OUR name. It appeared as I copy and pasted above and below:

Aurora Treasure Trove/Solon Budget Bin

Can you see any problem with that at all other than it is illegal?

If we had been talking about a business, do you think someone could advertise: Joe’s Hamburgers/McDonalds? I think not.

We have shoppers from places much farther than Aurora. So, shoppers are not the issue. Between our Fall and Spring Sale we netted approx. $34,000 and that is after giving consignors their cut. We take no expenses out of our proceeds either…100% goes to our “few” scholarships….which, combined with our proceeds from Kalahari will be about 37 – $1000 scholarships for people from all walks of life.

I absolutely do have a lot to devote my time to….aside from my family, I never missed a beat and am pouring my heart into our After Prom and other committees as well as my office in our PTA, my church, supporting troops through AdoptaPlatoon, Relay for Life and other charities. We are active with Cleveland Food Bank as well.

But, I am passionate about Budget Bin and everything I have done personally to make it even more successful over the last 8 years, so I will always look out for it’s success and well-being. We help far too many people for me not to want to preserve it’s reputation.

Suzi

I also see Suzi’s point that it was offense to say only a few scholarships are given without knowing details. I also think scholarships trump turf but that’s me. Seems to me like Solon also does more with their sale for the community in need and charitable organizations.

Bottom line Denise is it sounds like you’ve burned a bridge that would have been a very helpful resource and posting on the Solon blog with the title Budget Bin is even worse.

Suzi, post when the next Budget Bin is either on here or on the Aurora section of Cleveland.com. I’ll come and bring some friends.

I really don’t think we’re stealing your customers if that’s the issue. I lived in Solon for 10 years before I moved to Aurora. As a Solonite, I would have never driven to Aurora for a “used goods” sale, although I wouldn’t drive to Solon for it now.

I’m sure your time and energy are better spent elsewhere. Get over it, move on…..

“Go to the » Solon forum

1276. Aurora Treasure Trove/Solon Budget Bin
by switchcloser, 12/6/08 18:51 ET
Aurora is having a treasure trove – similar to Solon’s highly successful budget bin. Monday (12/8) 10-2 50% off and Tues (12/9) is bag day – Tons of items remaining. Stop on by and buy – 105 Hurd Road – Craddock School Gym”

Tsk, tsk….

I am not upset with your sale. I am disappointed what you did. The interesting thing is that I tried to find information on your sale when I was told about it. Nobody knew anything. My intention was to offer to put out fliers for your sale. I, personally, contact dozens of other organizations and offer to put out information for their events….since you were at our sales, you would have seen fliers and other promotional information. When I found what you had posted on the Craddock website my jaw dropped. I would never lift someone else’s words like that without talking to them…and even then I would have used a little imagination and changed the wording. It would not have taken too much effort.

Our sale is run by our Solon Council of PTA. We are very proud of our sale. This Spring alone we grossed over $27,000. Since you did once again attend our sale in the Spring you had ample opportunity to speak with us. What a shame you did not do this. We could have shared what worked and did not work and maybe even given you other guidance.

I think that since you lifted much of our information word for word, that you should have had the courtesy to at least mention it to us. Had this been the case of a book or something similar, it would be considered plagurism. It just would have been a common courtesy. I shared your information with a number of peope in and out of Solon and every single response was the same…actually some were more vocal than others. We do hope that since you will respect our sale dates in the future. Some did question your current dates.

You can say you changed the format all you want, but the fact is you used our words…you obviously made changes from your first sale to fit your situations, but we still see wording that was pretty much copied and pasted.

I can say for a fact that had we wanted to “emmulate” an event you had, we would have gone about it in a much more courteous way. In fact, we have had a number of organizations contact us about our successful sale that dates back over 50 years. We have provided guidance and even files and copies of our forms. So, it is not about just copying something we have been doing, it is the way you went about it. I have far more respect for the others who were straight forward. What a shame for you as not only did it leave a bad taste in our mouths, but HAD you been kind enough to ask, we would have gone out of our way to help you in many ways….even with our volunteers meeting with your committe, offering guidance in how to set up, publicize and more….

Volunteers of American will never be invited to pick up anything from our sale again. They came to get some things and although they promised to come back for the rest, they never showed up and never contacted us. We don’t allow anything to go to waste. We make sure everything gets to some charity or need…Libraries, inner city Cleveland schools, Womankind, Westhaven Youth Shelter, Trinity Homeless Ministry, Options for Family and Youth, Westside Catholic Center, Dress for Success, Jewish Womens Council and much more….

You might want to look back as I never said I was upset with your volunteers….not sure how you came to that conclusion. I am busy all the time volunteering for many different causes. I know the value of good volutneers. And, your comment about only offering a few scholarships…your words verbatim….and wanting to help more people….trust me….we help far more people than you will ever know…AND….over $30,000 in scholarships is far from a few. We touch many, many people in many, many ways.

I will still wish you good luck with your sale as anything that can help people, especially in times like this, can only be a good thing. We only ask that because of your proximity to Solon and the long history of our sale, that you will repsect our sale dates before scheduling your future sales. You can contact me via email to do this.

Suzi Castiglione