Much of the material goes abroad directly from the donor in deals that BBF arranges.

FORBES: Your Charity Dollars at Work

Now 55 and the youngest of five children, Luke Hingson recalls helping out at BBF as a child.

FORBES: Your Charity Dollars at Work

Hingson says that BBF won't accept anything unless it's in good shape and there's a use for it soon.

FORBES: Your Charity Dollars at Work

He invented a jet inoculation gun, able to give 1, 000 vaccinations an hour and credited with saving many lives in Africa (a photo of Hingson with Nobel laureate Albert Schweitzer hangs in the BBF office).

FORBES: Your Charity Dollars at Work

To attract donations, BBF depends mainly on its reputation, word of mouth and occasional local publicity when one of its 200 annual cargo containers leaves the warehouse for a hot world disaster spot, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or, a rare domestic effort, 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

FORBES: Your Charity Dollars at Work