Giving back

This is an email from one of my readers,

Hello,  so I have finally decided to order a paper subscription, I realized that I can benefit so much more if I have multiple coupons to be able to stock up on thrifty deals! I was just uncomfortable with wasting so many papers on Sunday, so I have decided to drop them off to a nursing home down the street. This might be a good topic of discussion, I am curious to see others creative ways other than just tossing them or recycling them?

I think this bring up a very good point that I would love to hear your feedback on.  Greg at the Idaho Press Tribune told me that it would be a great idea for the Boy scouts to put together a paper drive.  Where they would come pick the boxes of extra paper from all of us couponers.  Then the Boy Scouts would be able to take all the papers and turn them into the recycle centers and keep the profit for their scout troop.  It would be a great way to  give service to the community and to help them earn some money.  I love this idea!  Below is a post I did a few months ago on another way to help out with your papers.

If you get the ” A Thrifty Mom Paper deal ” and get multiple Sunday papers then you most likely have the same problem as I do.  Boxes of Paper,  they fill up fast.  I have not always recycled my papers, it takes extra time and is one more thing to add to my “to do” list.  But I always felt guilty about tossing them in the trash.  I use to take them to the Rite Aid parking lot, and toss them in the big recycle bins.

But then I found out from one of my readers Mary, that I can take them to the  Nampa recycling center and it will benefit the Ronald McDonald House in Boise. At the Caldwell United Metals, you can donate any used metal  and at the Nampa Western Recycling, you can donate not only metal but also newspaper, cardboard and white paper.  They  have accounts set up at both plants. All you have to do is tell the scale attendant the donation is for the Boise RMH.

You all know how I feel about the Ronald McDonald House, it is such a wonderful place.  Due to my sons health we have had to stay there in the past.  It is not easy to accept help from others, but greatly needed at that time in our lives.  It has been our goal to continue to give back as a way to say thank you.

So PLEASE do not toss  your papers, and other recyclable items in the trash….and help a child in need instead.  To read the post with other ways you can give back to RMH click here

Also:

Also read here to see that pet shelters need newspapers for cage liners

Thanks to Pamela for this info,

Guardian Soldiers Inc. is a non profit organization that sends care packages to our troops overseas. They would like to start collecting more of the items that soldiers really WANT and NEED. The military does not supply a lot of items the soldiers like to have.

For example, sometimes soldiers are a long distance from a base which means no showers, so “Wet Ones” or any kind of body wipes are something they really like to have. 

Food wise, Sunflower Seeds and Jerky are often requested so they can really use a lot of those. You can CLICK HERE to view a list of many, many items wanted. 

You can also sign a soldier up for a care package on that page. While your there, sign up as a follower to show your support.

If you have coupons for FREE items you would like to donate, they do have a store that will honor them. They also want pens and such, well, with the “hot” bic coupons right now maybe some folks could send them some coupons in the mail so they can be on the look out for FREE after coupon deals!

Jessica asked me to pass the word along about a local service project going on in Nampa, Idaho.

The MOMS Club of Nampa and we are doing a service project for foster children and we were wondering if you could tell your readers about it. Project Backpack is to help children in the foster care system have something to call their own. We will be assembling backpacks containing essential items for children taken from their home, who might otherwise have nothing of their own. Often times children are removed from their home with their belongings shoved in trash bags. Examples of things needed would be hygiene items, books, school supplies, a toy/stuffed animal, and even the backpack.  We will be collecting these items on August 11 at 10 am.  We will have a table set up at Lakeview park in Nampa.  We have otter pops for the children who bring items to donate.  If they have questions about this project we can be contacted at momsclubofnampa@live.com.

Update: In the last 24hrs they have had over $50,000 $70,000 $90,000 donated!

I got word from Kathy ( Karia’s mom) that they are now on a plane, headed for surgery thanks to the kindness of others! He will now have a chance to live life again!  He has 60% chance this will help him….lets pray it does!

If you are in Idaho I am sure you know about the Stockdale Family.  They are a local family that has 4 beautiful kids with major health issues, they were selected by Extreme Home Makeover and were built a beautiful home.  Since that time their Dad Ryan Stockdale has become very  ill.  He has cluster headaches and is in constant  uncontrollable pain.  He has had to quit work, is unable to play with is kids, or do anything for that matter. His insurance has denied him coverage for the deep brains surgery that he will need.  They needed $150,000 to pay for the surgery, they do not know how much longer Ryan’s body can endure this constant unbearable pain.  The Surgeon has agreed to wave his $60,000 in fees in an effort to save Ryan’s life.  But the family is now faced with the task of raising $80,000 dollars to give Ryan a chance at life.

I grew up with Karia and Ryan, they are a young family with the the odds stacked against them.  So what I am asking of you is to donate to help get Ryan the surgery he needs.  I have over 6,000 readers a day come to my site.  So if we all gave just $1 we could make a huge impact.  I have told you I will never charge for my site, I will never ask for your money to benefit myself.   But I asking you to help a family in need.

For more info and to donate http://www.ryanstockdale.org

My bloggy friends at Fabulessly Frugal are trying to raise funds to buy a local mom a Madsen Bike.  All they are asking for is your “junk” to sale at a yard sale to raise money.   I do not personally know this mom, but I do know she has had her share of struggles this past year.  She lost her twins, the pain no parent should be asked to endure.  Not that this bike will take that pain away, but it may put a smile on a face that has had many tears …for all the details and how you can help click here.

I  wanted to pass along another way for your readers to use their coupons and give back at the same time. I know that you believe in giving back and have talked about that on your site. It’s so easy – just clip any pet coupons out of your Sunday paper and drop them off (or mail them) to your favorite animal shelter. They are constantly purchasing supplies, and just imagine how much they would save if everyone did this for them! Or even better, use those coupons to purchase the actual items and drop them off to the shelter.

Another way to help is to bookmark the following site and click on it each day. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3 For every click they receive, more money is donated!

Thanks Megan for this Thrifty tip!

You all know how I feel about giving back.  Look at your Thrifty deals, and see what you may have to give.  

On Saturday May 9th, letter carriers in more than 10,000 communities will collect food items and deliver them to local food banks to help some of the millions of Americans, including an estimated 13 million children, who face hunger every day.
Since 1993, families have donated more than a half-billion pounds of food to Stamp Out Hunger. You can help make this year our most successful ever.  Simply place bags filled with nonperishable food items like canned meats and fish, canned soup, juice, pasta, vegetables, cereal and rice next to your mailbox on Saturday, May 9th. 

Your letter carrier will pick up the bags and deliver them to your local food bank.
 Please do not include out-of-date items or those in glass containers.

Click here for more details

If you have read my blog very long you know I get a lot of fun freebies in the mail.  I get about 5 free magazines a month.  I enjoy them, but once I am done with them I normally let my kids cut them up for craft projects, or toss them in the recycle pile.  Well last month my daughter was getting a check-up  at the doctors office.  They were very busy that day, so we had to wait a while to be seen.  The waiting room had a few medication pamphlets but nothing to read or look at.  Needless to say it was a long wait.  That is when I had the idea to pass along all my free magazines.  Of course I asked them to make sure it was ok….they were happy to take them.   I just cut my address off the front, and dropped them off.  I plan to do this every month from now on.  What do you do with your old magazines?