It’s an OLX with a heart: this startup helps you give away your once-loved goodies to charities

There’s some seriously big money being thrown at online marketplaces where people can sell second-hand items, and the battle is particularly fierce in India between sites like OLX and Quikr. But how about kind souls that would like to give away their pre-loved belongings to people who are less fortunate? For that, there’s Another Brick In The Road.

The civic-minded site finds someone who needs the stuff that you’re clearing out, like kids’ toys, blankets, schoolbags, and functioning gadgets you no longer need, such as radios. Another Brick In The Road connects with the local charities that are its partners to take the second-hand goodies off your hands and distribute them where they’re needed.

Another Brick In The Road is now seeking to raise US$7,250 in a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. It has already secured US$1,410 with 44 days still left. The campaign “aims to raise enough to cover operating costs for the first couple of years,” explains Luanne Misquitta, the not-for-profit startup’s founder.

At present, this is limited to Mumbai, where the team is based, but Misquitta wants to expand it in due course across India and then into other countries.

“It was inspired by the need to find places to give my own stuff away,” explains Misquitta to Tech in Asia. “It turned out to be an incredibly tedious process to first find organizations that need what I had. Needs are unlisted, and organizations most in need have no web presence or even enough staff to answer phone calls and provide relevant information. It turned out that most people have exactly the same problem, and that is how Another Brick In The Road was born.”

She goes on to explain how it operates:

The concept relies on the goodwill of the community – we’re in touch with many people who volunteer at social organizations and they love the concept because they think that our service will help them reach more people. Now we’re able to tell them that there are 10 people in your area with stuff waiting to be given away, and that’s a good enough reason for them to organize a collection drive on a Sunday and go pick up the stuff.

The team is now approaching more orphanages and children’s homes in Mumbai to get them on board.

The brick metaphor in the site’s name is an apt one in terms of how everyone can contribute to building something for the greater good. It’s all the more timely as Apple CEO Tim Cook used the same allusion in his essay yesterday in which he discussed his sexuality for the first time in the context of helping “someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is.” Cook ended the article by saying, “I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.”

As useful and noble as this Indian service is, it still faces the same initial issue that any startup has – how to get people to notice it. “We’re engaging via social media, approaching radio stations and newspapers, and we’ll be advertising once the service goes live,” says Misquitta.

Another Brick In The Road has options ranging from US$5 to US$500 on its crowdfunding page.

See: How 500 Startups-backed SocialCops helps the little guys with big data