| You already take your old clothes to Goodwill and have the Salvation Army pick up unwanted furniture. But what about the other items just sitting in your house collecting dust? Here's how to put them to better use.... BOOKS ~ "Reader to Reader" has donated over 500,000 books to more than 300 schools in need. Most recently it has sent off 300,000 books to libraries in communities affected by Hurricane Katrina. Children´s and teen titles are in highest demand. They must be in good shape and suitable for pre-K to high school students. To cut down on shipping, send them via media mail at the US Post Office. Readertoreader.org GLASSES ~ "Give the Gift of Sight" would take any prescription glasses or sunglasses, it does not matter how out-of-date. Drop them off at any LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, BJ´s Optical, or Sunglass Hut. After cleaning the glasses they will send them to poor and developing countries such as Honduras or Ecuador. The glasses are then paired up with people in need who have similar prescriptions. To date, they´ve fitted nearly 5 million people with glasses and hope to reach 7 million by 2008. givethegiftofsight.com CELL PHONES ~ "Call2Recycle" will take old cell phones and rechargeable batteries, even if they´ve lost their power. Last year "Call2Recycle" collected over 4.8 million pounds of batteries and 116,000 cell phones that were either refurbished and resold, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or completely recycled. There are more than 30,000 drop-off sites in the US, including Best Buy, Circuit Cit, Lowe´s, Sears, Target and other retail outlets. Call2recycle.org COATS ~ "One Warm Coat" basically needs any coat or jacket in good condition. One Warm Coat helps to redistribute tens of thousands of coats . Last year it was able to place more than 150,000 coats with men, women and children. If you have any old coats you would like to donate, please contact onewarmcoat.org. INSTRUMENTS ~ "Hungry for Music" will take any musical instrument, a clarinet from the past, outgrown drum sets, even your old violin. They clean, then redistribute instruments to underprivileged students. If an instrument is particularly valuable, it is resold and the money is used to purchase several instruments for kids in need across the US and beyond. The organization was able to place 308 instruments last year but is currently overwhelmed with requests and needs donations. Most donors pay for their own shipping, but if that is a problem, the organization may be able to work something out. hungryformusic.org |