So considering that TF has a lot of Mystery Boxes, there will be times that we get something we have no use for. I know we all have different methods as to what we do with these items, but occasionally, there will be items that won't sell at a Garage Sale or your 9-year-old nephew/niece has no use for.

I am a director for a charity, and we often hold events with raffles and offer doorprizes. These items would be perfect for these reasons, and it's going to a great cause. So why not donate the items for this cause?

I started this thread to get a list together for other TF members that are involved in charity work in case you wanted to donate your unwanted items. If you work with charities directly, please indicate so, and I'll add you to this list.

Thanks!

Joe - jo3design
Charity: Blanket-A-Human Website
Description: A non-profit (501 (c) 3) organization which aids in the social awareness of homelessness. We hold charity concerts, events, raffles, and passouts, and mainly provide blankets to homeless individuals/families, especially during the cold holiday seasons.
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Toni - greekgrl61
Charity 1: The Beach Buccanneers - This group is for kids from 5-18, and offers EVERYONE a chance to play, cheerlead or be on a pom squad. There are no tryouts and everyone plays every game. We are always trying to raise money to keep the costs down for families and to be able to offer playerships to low income families who otherwise wouldn't be able to participate. We have many fundraising events throughout the year and are trying to get away from selling candy, pizzas, wrapping paper... We are always looking for doorprizes, basket bingo basket stuffers, little extras for the players at our Texas Hold 'em tourneys (I posted for watches for this recently and TFers were very generous and mailed me watches...thank you, thank you, thank you!), and give aways for our annual banquet.
Charity 2: Local Vol. Fire Department - We don't have paid firefighters and our fire departments are always strapped for cash since we don't get a lot from the county. We pretty much do the same stuff as the Bucs and a lot of times we do it in conjunction with the Bucs, sharing the $ made. In addition to those fund raisers, we have bingo every week, and childrens bingo around Thanksgiving to raise money for the childrens Christmas party and gifts for those who may not have Christmas without the donations from the bingo game. We can always use door prizes, and yardsale items as well as things we can use as gifts for the children
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Great idea! Perhaps the folks who work with charities could also post the items they are looking for.

Toni, I added you to the list on the OP!

Perhaps we can do an alternating rotation for every Mystery Box? What kind of system do you all think would work best?

Yes, donations are tax-deductible. All I would need is for you to provide an estimated value, and I'll email you a receipt.

Simple, right?

Joe

I work with a few charities, all helping special needs kids. The links to their websites, plus Autism Speaks (which I don't directly help with their events) are in my sig, or click on their name below. As far as receipts go, I suppose I could get some, I just have never asked before. I probably should ask since I donate so much stuff - it would probably help me with my taxes.

Y.E.S.S. Program - is a summer camp for kids with developmental disabilities (mental retardation, autism, etc..). We have an education part in the mornings Mon - Thurs, and a recreation part in the afternoons and all day on Fridays. For our recreation part, we take the kids out in the community and do things "typical" kids would do like swimming, skating, movies, bowling, horse back riding, restaurants etc.. We have the education part to help the kids retain what they have learned over the summer so teachers can hopefully move on to new concepts instead of having to spend a lot of time reteaching stuff from the previous year.

We have drawings for prizes for students who get caught reading and for participating in the exercise program. A new prize for this year is flashlights (2 cell phone lights stuck together ). We have other events and contests throughout the summer where we give prizes to the students. We also have an auction every year, towards the end of camp, to help raise money for the final week of camp. We call the final week travel week since we take the students, on air conditioned buses, to a theme park for a full day and to other attractions in the area of the theme park. We are gone for 3 days and actually stay in a motel for two nights. Usually we go to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City or Frontier City in Oklahoma City. Last year we did better than usual, and we were able to take the kids down to Six Flags in Dallas. This year however, we are already facing budget cuts and camp is just starting. Due to minimum wage going up, and gas going way up, but camp cost not going up by very much, our budget has dropped by $2 per kid per week. It feels like a bigger hit than that though, since most of the places we take the kids to have also raised their prices.

The ARC, who co-sponsors the camp, helps out people with developmental disabilities of all ages, all year long in many different ways. Just about any item could be used by them either to directly help somebody out, or in one of their garage sales or auctions.


ROCKO (Respite Outreach Care for Kansans Organization) - At ROCKO, we give parents of kids with disabilities (physical and/or developmental) a break, and entertain the kids during that time. Since ROCKO is only a few years old and currently using various churches to hold the events, staff has to take everything needed with them to the events. I have not seen too many things on here that could be used by ROCKO at this time, at least not until we get our own building built. The 2 items from TF that I have used the most at ROCKO are the rechargeable batteries/chargers, and the Grip Twists. The Grip Twists are wonderful when I am trying to modify things (especially playground equipment) so our kids with physical disabilities can use them. Some more of the longer ones (black or red) would be very helpful.

If you have any questions, just PM me.

You know what you can probably do? Twice a year, I go to Big Lots or a similar discount store, and buy up a bunch of towels, sheets, blankets, etc. and take them to my veterinarian. They are always in need of cozy blankets for animals that are in recovery after surgeries, etc. The towels can only be washed so many times before they need to be replaced, so they need new ones fairly often. And my vet doesn't care if the stuff is brand new or not - just as long as it's decent enough for a sick dog or cat to sleep on. I changed the blanket and bedspread on my bed recently, and gave the old stuff to my vet. I was sick of looking at that gawd awful gold color bedspread, but a dog and/or cat doesn't care what color it is!! LOL

It's a cheap gift to give, and it makes an animal lover, such as myself, feel pretty damn good inside....

Thank you. The animals truly do appreciate it. The Veterinarians sometimes buy blankets and towels out of thier own pocket money when the supply is low, the Technicians and assistants do the same so those that do bring in the towels and blankets are very highly regarded in the field. The Vets/Techs/Assistants dont make all that much money contrary to popular belief! I dontated my hair to Locks of Love, my kitchen sink and faucet to Habitat for Humanity, my time and knowledge to the National Gaurdsmen/women, time to my kids schools and community services. I recently donated a couch and loveseat to a community organization too. All that I can do to help give back to others I try to do.

Thanks for the site addy. Will give it a closer look after i get off of work. Already have seen some neat stuff.

I posted this a while ago in its own thread, but I think it fits in well here, sooo copy, paste.

I'm going to be walking 60 miles...
Thanks again to the people who have already donated. I really appreciate the support of my fellow flingers on this and thanks to you, we're that much closer to finding a solution to this horrible affliction.

OUCH! How can they blame you for the bruise when they were the ones holding the needle?? Apparently someone isn't such a great Phlebotomist or new at it! Geeze!

This happens to my friend everytime they draw her blood..but she has Lupus.