**This is part of a series of posts highlighting ways in which you can donate to community organizations and help others even when your budget doesn't have room for monetary support.
Can you imagine how difficult life would be if you were unable to see, but couldn’t afford an eye exam or glasses? It costs the Lions Club less than $0.08 to provide a pair of recycled eyeglasses and change someone's life.
You can drop off your old eyewear at Lions-sponsored collection boxes in your community. Typical locations include libraries, schools, community centers, places of worship, coffee shops, optometrist offices and other public locations where communities socialize and get together.
For information specific to locations in your community, contact your local Lions club. You can also package your old eyeglasses and mail them to one of two locations:
--Your nearest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center
--Lions Clubs International Headquarters
Attention: Receiving Department
300 W. 22nd Street
Oak Brook, IL 60523
Showing posts with label household. Show all posts
Showing posts with label household. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Donating Used Athletic Shoes
**This is part of a series of posts highlighting ways in which you can donate to community organizations and help others even when your budget doesn't have room for monetary support.
Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program collects old, worn-out athletic shoes for recycling, transforming them into Nike Grind, a material used in creating athletic and playground surfaces as well as select Nike products.The best part about this is that Nike accepts ALL brands of athletic shoes (but only athletic shoes). Drop off up to 10 pairs of shoes to any Reuse-A-Shoe collection location, which can be found at Nike retail stores, universities, athletic clubs, special events or at one of the National Recycling Coalition centers across the country. Due to limited capacity of the drop off locations, they can only accept 10 per donation. If you wish to collect more, you need to apply to host a drive. Everyone has old tennis shoes that aren’t good enough to pass on for others to wear, but hate to just throw in the garbage.
Soles 4 Souls collected new or gently used shoes to distribute to those who are in need domestically and internationally. Many Americans, including myself, take for granted owning several (or many) pairs of shoes. However, much of the world’s population cannot afford even one pair of adequate shoes. You can participate by shipping your family’s new or gently worn shoes to one of the warehouse facilities or drop them off at one of the participation locations. There were quite a few near me, so hopefully they are abundant across the country. If you plan to collect more than 10 pair, you can sponsor a shoe drive by volunteering to collect and package shoes from your area. For more information contactinfo@giveshoes.org.
Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program collects old, worn-out athletic shoes for recycling, transforming them into Nike Grind, a material used in creating athletic and playground surfaces as well as select Nike products.The best part about this is that Nike accepts ALL brands of athletic shoes (but only athletic shoes). Drop off up to 10 pairs of shoes to any Reuse-A-Shoe collection location, which can be found at Nike retail stores, universities, athletic clubs, special events or at one of the National Recycling Coalition centers across the country. Due to limited capacity of the drop off locations, they can only accept 10 per donation. If you wish to collect more, you need to apply to host a drive. Everyone has old tennis shoes that aren’t good enough to pass on for others to wear, but hate to just throw in the garbage.
Soles 4 Souls collected new or gently used shoes to distribute to those who are in need domestically and internationally. Many Americans, including myself, take for granted owning several (or many) pairs of shoes. However, much of the world’s population cannot afford even one pair of adequate shoes. You can participate by shipping your family’s new or gently worn shoes to one of the warehouse facilities or drop them off at one of the participation locations. There were quite a few near me, so hopefully they are abundant across the country. If you plan to collect more than 10 pair, you can sponsor a shoe drive by volunteering to collect and package shoes from your area. For more information contactinfo@giveshoes.org.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Donating Cell Phones and Inkjet Cartridges
Most people have an old cell phone or three in a drawer somewhere. There are plenty of charities and organizations that can benefit from the donation of your cell phone. Ask your friends and family if they have any to donate while you're at it. I’ve run collections at work for Cell Phones for Soldiers, a local battered women’s’ shelter (through Action Ohio), and am currently collecting cell phones and inkjet cartridges to benefit Komen Columbus, which is the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Cell Phones for Soldiers collects old cell phones and to provide minutes on prepaid calling cards for U.S. Troops stationed overseas. ReCellular pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone—enough to provide an hour of talk time for soldiers so far from their families and friends . There are 40,000 drop off locations around the US and Canada or you can mail them using a postage-paid label from the website (or your own postage). You can also get a donation receipt for tax purposes off of the website and there are instructions on how to erase the data from your phone before you donate.
If you know a soldier overseas who is in need of a calling card, you can request that one be sent to him or her by providing the APO.
Did you know that deactivated but charged cell phones can still call 911? The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) partners with The Wireless Foundation on the CALL TO PROTECT program. Through the collection of deactivated cell and wireless phones, they are able to provide victims of domestic violence with a way to get help in emergency situations. These donated phones truly provide a lifeline to victims and their children. Phones that aren’t distributed for emergency use are sold to help fund agencies that work to end domestic violence.
If you’d prefer to donate to a battered women’s shelter, you could call your local police department to see if they know of a way to donate locally. In Ohio, you can donate yours to Action Ohio http://www.actionohio.org/ through a local dropoff or by requesting a pre-paid label. When I ran a collection drive at work, they even came to pick up the boxes of phones for free.
Do you have a soft spot for animals? Visit a PetSmart store and look for the PetSmart Charities recycling display to pick up a free postage-paid envelope to send your recyclable ink jet cartridges or cell phones. PetSmart Charities will receive a $2-$15 donation for every cartridge or phone recycled through this program. They only accept certain phones and cartridges, so make sure to check the list on the website.
Now you can purchase recycled inkjet and toner cartridges online here through Recycling for Pets. For each purchase (which ship for free), PetSmart Charities will receive between $2-$5.
Cell Phones for Soldiers collects old cell phones and to provide minutes on prepaid calling cards for U.S. Troops stationed overseas. ReCellular pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone—enough to provide an hour of talk time for soldiers so far from their families and friends . There are 40,000 drop off locations around the US and Canada or you can mail them using a postage-paid label from the website (or your own postage). You can also get a donation receipt for tax purposes off of the website and there are instructions on how to erase the data from your phone before you donate.
If you know a soldier overseas who is in need of a calling card, you can request that one be sent to him or her by providing the APO.
Did you know that deactivated but charged cell phones can still call 911? The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) partners with The Wireless Foundation on the CALL TO PROTECT program. Through the collection of deactivated cell and wireless phones, they are able to provide victims of domestic violence with a way to get help in emergency situations. These donated phones truly provide a lifeline to victims and their children. Phones that aren’t distributed for emergency use are sold to help fund agencies that work to end domestic violence.
If you’d prefer to donate to a battered women’s shelter, you could call your local police department to see if they know of a way to donate locally. In Ohio, you can donate yours to Action Ohio http://www.actionohio.org/ through a local dropoff or by requesting a pre-paid label. When I ran a collection drive at work, they even came to pick up the boxes of phones for free.
Do you have a soft spot for animals? Visit a PetSmart store and look for the PetSmart Charities recycling display to pick up a free postage-paid envelope to send your recyclable ink jet cartridges or cell phones. PetSmart Charities will receive a $2-$15 donation for every cartridge or phone recycled through this program. They only accept certain phones and cartridges, so make sure to check the list on the website.
Now you can purchase recycled inkjet and toner cartridges online here through Recycling for Pets. For each purchase (which ship for free), PetSmart Charities will receive between $2-$5.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Savory Pancakes and Cast Iron Pans
I threw together some ingredients last weekend for a breakfast/brunch dish and was really pleased with how easy and good they were. I was going to make regular pancakes, but didn’t have any bacon or sausage links or patties to serve on the side. I did have some browned loose sausage in the freezer that I thought I could throw in with the batter to incorporate the meat into the dish. I really don’t have measurements for any of this, but you can add as little or as much of anything that you’d like
Savory Pancakes
1 batch of pancake mix, mixed accordingly to directions on the box or a homemade recipe
1 cup or so of browned sausage crumbles or crumbled bacon
½ shredded zucchini, if desired (or other veggie)
Savory spices according to your preferences, this is approximately what I used:
Crushed red pepper flakes
Garlic
Basil
Thyme
Onion powder
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
After the batter is mixed, stir in meat and zucchini if using. I didn’t want sausage in all of the pancakes so I cooked a batch before I stirred in the sausage. Shake desired amount of spices that you’d like to use—don’t worry about measuring, just guess. It’s always better to use a little less than more if you aren’t sure. I probably used at least 1/4 of a teaspoon of each of the above spices, some probably more of. Prepare skillet or griddle with nonstick cooking spray, butter, or oil and heat until drops of water sizzle when dripped into pan. Pour batter into skillet and flip after bubbles start to pop on the surface of the pancakes. Remove from heat when both sides are golden brown. Serve with a touch of syrup if you like to mix salty and sweet or possibly even some sort of gravy if you’d prefer your dish to be completely savory.
If you have a cast iron pan, they work great for pancakes. I ordered one of these Lodge Logic Cast Iron Pans (the 12 inch) from Amazon and I will be getting more because I use it for so much and want other sizes. They come preseasoned, so they are easy to care for from the start. These ship free with a $25 purchase from Amazon and are part of the Buy 3, Get the 4th free promotion (they don't have to be the same item...just part of the promotion). They are American-made
8 inch Cast Iron Pan
10 inch Cast Iron Pan
12 inch Cast Iron Pan
Savory Pancakes
1 batch of pancake mix, mixed accordingly to directions on the box or a homemade recipe
1 cup or so of browned sausage crumbles or crumbled bacon
½ shredded zucchini, if desired (or other veggie)
Savory spices according to your preferences, this is approximately what I used:
Crushed red pepper flakes
Garlic
Basil
Thyme
Onion powder
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
After the batter is mixed, stir in meat and zucchini if using. I didn’t want sausage in all of the pancakes so I cooked a batch before I stirred in the sausage. Shake desired amount of spices that you’d like to use—don’t worry about measuring, just guess. It’s always better to use a little less than more if you aren’t sure. I probably used at least 1/4 of a teaspoon of each of the above spices, some probably more of. Prepare skillet or griddle with nonstick cooking spray, butter, or oil and heat until drops of water sizzle when dripped into pan. Pour batter into skillet and flip after bubbles start to pop on the surface of the pancakes. Remove from heat when both sides are golden brown. Serve with a touch of syrup if you like to mix salty and sweet or possibly even some sort of gravy if you’d prefer your dish to be completely savory.
If you have a cast iron pan, they work great for pancakes. I ordered one of these Lodge Logic Cast Iron Pans (the 12 inch) from Amazon and I will be getting more because I use it for so much and want other sizes. They come preseasoned, so they are easy to care for from the start. These ship free with a $25 purchase from Amazon and are part of the Buy 3, Get the 4th free promotion (they don't have to be the same item...just part of the promotion). They are American-made
8 inch Cast Iron Pan
10 inch Cast Iron Pan
12 inch Cast Iron Pan
Monday, May 4, 2009
Why I Love Trader Joe's
Before I ever shopped at Trader Joe's, I assumed that it was a high-priced health food store with limited selection. I found that I was completely wrong, except for that many of the food options ARE more healthy than typical grocery store products (no high fructose corn syrup or trans-fat, that I've seen--and I read ingredients). It is definitely my favorite place to shop.
Why I love this store:
-return anything that you don't like for a full refund
-samples to try before you buy
-the employees always seem happy and are crazy helpful
-2.99 greek yogurt (compared to $4+ for Fage)
-1.99 liquid egg whites carton
-1.69 reduced fat wheat crisp crackers
-1.29 for 4 big lemons
-1.79 1/2 gallon of milk
-1.69 for 1.5 lbs of baby carrots
-1.49 shredded carrots
-1.49 dozen eggs
-1.99 hummus (chipotle pepper is my favorite!)
-2.49 organic spinach
-1.69 english muffins
-1.89 pizza sauce
-1.79 peanut butter (salted or unsalted creamy or crunchy)
-3.49 for a bag of 4 avocados
-0.99 sea salt
-3.99 2-ply 12 rolls recycled bath tissue
-Lots of imported cheese...good prices on it. I love the brie and the blue cheese
-Tofu is only about 1.49 (used to be .99, but I think the price increased)
-I don't have prices, but I also love the frozen veggies and berries.
-Awesome selection of cookies, nuts, candy (chocolate covered everything), and frozen desserts
-Great beer/wine selection
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON
-3.49 Charles Shaw Wine! Ever heard of 2 Buck Chuck? This is it...and it is GOOD.
Anything to add?? There is a Trader Joe's at Easton and one on Sawmill near 161.
Why I love this store:
-return anything that you don't like for a full refund
-samples to try before you buy
-the employees always seem happy and are crazy helpful
-2.99 greek yogurt (compared to $4+ for Fage)
-1.99 liquid egg whites carton
-1.69 reduced fat wheat crisp crackers
-1.29 for 4 big lemons
-1.79 1/2 gallon of milk
-1.69 for 1.5 lbs of baby carrots
-1.49 shredded carrots
-1.49 dozen eggs
-1.99 hummus (chipotle pepper is my favorite!)
-2.49 organic spinach
-1.69 english muffins
-1.89 pizza sauce
-1.79 peanut butter (salted or unsalted creamy or crunchy)
-3.49 for a bag of 4 avocados
-0.99 sea salt
-3.99 2-ply 12 rolls recycled bath tissue
-Lots of imported cheese...good prices on it. I love the brie and the blue cheese
-Tofu is only about 1.49 (used to be .99, but I think the price increased)
-I don't have prices, but I also love the frozen veggies and berries.
-Awesome selection of cookies, nuts, candy (chocolate covered everything), and frozen desserts
-Great beer/wine selection
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON
-3.49 Charles Shaw Wine! Ever heard of 2 Buck Chuck? This is it...and it is GOOD.
Anything to add?? There is a Trader Joe's at Easton and one on Sawmill near 161.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
