Stuff, stuff, and, more stuff! Now that St. Nick has
eaten the cookies and gone, kids are playing with all their new toys
and wearing their new shoes and clothing. So, what should you do with
their old (but still good) stuff? Don’t dump it! Donate it! Do Your
Part and give your used toys, clothing and shoes a second life.
Begin by tackling the toy situation. Many of the
toys children outgrow are still perfectly good. You can donate working
toys, certain video game units and plush animals to your local homeless
shelter, battered women’s shelter or
guidelines and recalls before it can be donated or sold. Due to massive
toy recalls in recent years, some groups no longer accept used toys and
many children’s hospitals and care facilities only accept brand new
toys.
must remember the joy you felt when you got your first bike. Now,
imagine giving that same feeling to a child in need. You can donate
your family’s old bikes to many different organizations that will
deliver them to those who need them the most. BikesForTykes.org and
IBike.org are good places to find out what’s available in your
community. Goodwill and
If grandma did your child in with new outfits, it’s
probably time to part with some of the items that no longer fit or that
your child no longer wears. Goodwill and
both seeking additional gently used clothing items this year because
donations have also suffered from the recession. Your child’s
hand-me-downs could quite simply help turn another person’s life
around. By taking your items to Goodwill you are funding employment and
training programs that benefit over a million people every year.
Donations taken to
And, don’t forget about the shoes. We all know how
fast kids will outgrow their shoes and that means that their old ones
probably still have some life left in them. Thirty million children
around the globe don’t have shoes to put on their feet this year. So,
instead of trashing your families shoes, donate them! Soles4Soles.org
collects shoes of all kinds and distributes them to children who
desperately need them. And, don’t toss out those athletic shoes that
are too worn out to wear again.
Reuse A Shoe program will take them, grind them up, and create all
sorts of things with them — everything from running tracks to tennis
courts.
This season, as new items come into your home take
the time to reduce, reuse or recycle the old ones. You’ll Do Your Part
to keep those items out of the landfill while providing a brighter year
ahead for someone less fortunate.
