Doc To Dock, Inc.

I have had a number of interactions with Doc2Dock, including events in Manhattan as well as a trip to the warehouse. I was extremely impressed with the devotion and passion of the staff members to the cause as well as the high level of organization of this non-profit entity. I look forward to future opportunities to work with Doc2Dock.

My first experience with Doc to Dock was at the “Third Annual Surplus into Survival” charity event in 2008. It was on this night in June that I fell in love with the organization, especially after hearing how the donations are put to use and seeing how passionate the members are to be part of the effort. This organization strives to reduce the American cycle of waste by collecting unused supplies from hospitals around the country and shipping them to hospitals and clinics in developing countries in Africa. But what makes this organization magical is the passion of its members. Dr Bruce Charash, in particular, lit up every time he talked about a mammography machine being used for the first time or a successful shipment that saved thousands of lives. His passion is contagious and I hope Doc to Dock continues to save the world – one syringe at a time!

I made a donation to Doc to Dock, Inc. after doing quite a bit of research on this organization. I'm very happy with what percentage of my money actually goes to sending medical supplies to countries in need. I'm also very excited to know that my contribution helps to keep usable materials from going into our landfills.

I would like to address the comments from the previous reviewer. Although they did not provide their name, I am Bruce Charash, the founder of Doc to Dock. Some of what was written is true, but much of it is far from the truth. Firstly, I had no such contact with a person at the Clinton Global Initiative about funding a container to West Africa. Hence the interaction described never happened. Furthermore I have always treated everyone, expecially including prospective funders, with the deepest of respect. This is the ethos of Doc to Dock, and is shared by everyone on our team. We are trying to save lives, and anyone who is in a position to help us acheive this goal immediatley becomes a valuable friend. It is true that we work with a partner NGO based in the western part of the United States. It is also true that we occasionally use them as our "freight forwarder." But we also directly ship our own containers here in the New York region. We use whichever model is most effective to achieve our goal. It is also true that the average cost to fund a container is approximately $25,000; with the average value of supplies being shipped closer to $500,000 (wholesale value). The cost for a given project does not change if we ship it directly ourselves, or if we work through our partner organization. Nor is the price any different if one were to approach our west coast partners directly for the same project. Hence, regardless of how the goal is achieved, the cost is exactly the same to the funder. Doc to Dock is constantly collecting medical supplies and equipment from regional and national hospitals. This requires an extensive logistical operations in which we pick up and sort supplies, and maintain an accurate inventory (which we share with our friends in the west, as they share with us). This appropriate cost-share of this operation (logistics and manpower) is included in any given project. Even with that factored in, we are delivering 20X to the ground the value of each donated dollar (including every project dollar). Besides our extensive logisitics, Doc to Dock also performs a detailed assessment of every potential recipient hospital in Africa and Haiti, to be sure we send that hospital only the supplies and equipment that they need. Hence, to claim that Doc to Dock collects a fee for just "making a phone call" is a cynical and highly inaccurate statement. Indeed, we even work with recipient hospitals to measure the outcome of each delivery, so that the impact of each container is documented. For example, this past summer, Doc to Dock delivered 5 containers to Lubumbashi, Congo and documented a 40% reduction of pediatric and infant mortality within a month of receiving the supplies. We also documented a 70% increase in clinic visits (where preventative medicine was practiced) Doc to Dock is actively expanding our operations and is moving to a larger warehouse in January 2012, in order to accomodate our increased volume of direct shipments of containers. Finally, the comment about our entire board quitting is sadly a fabrication. Indeed, we have a very active Board who are highly commited to expanding our operational model, and who are highly commited to helping to bring quality health care to Africa and Haiti. Our goal is to help people who are suffering and dying before their time. We are committed to this goal with every fiber of our operational existance. We believe in the dignity of all people, and believe that if we all work together, we can make an enormous difference in this world. We thank all of you who have given us support in the past, and invite all of you to see for yourselves what we do, and how we do it.

I had a very bad experience with this charity. I had wanted to send a container of medical equipment to West Africa and was encouraged by a board member to consider Doc to Dock. I had heard about Doc to Dock at the Clinton Global Initiative and had met Dr. Charash, the founder. I thought he was extremely dismissive but I agreed to consider them because of my board member friend. Doc to Dock was asking for $25,000 to ship a container of goods they valued at $400,000 to Africa. This was a great value proposition. But I later learned that they didn't pack or ship any of the containers themselves. They "partnered" with ProjectCure which packed and shipped everything.... for $20,000. Doc to Doc in essence was making $5000 for making a couple phone calls. They were, in essence, marketers. While I realize the need for "marketers", Doc to Dock presented themselves as a fully functional NGO. Imagine my surprise when the Board tried to oust Dr. Charash and found that he altered the by-laws overnight, preventing his ouster. The entire board quit en masse. I saw them at CGI in 2011, still spouting the same story. I would be wary of them.