Just as there are things you recycle, there are things you donate. (I made a TV commercial– a public service announcement– for Goodwill® that illustrates this idea. Watch it here on YouTube.) We launched the Donate icon to give donating its own symbol, because it is like recycling but distinctly different.
Like recycling, donating is repurposing and it's keeping items from going into the landfill. The difference is that it helps your community in ways most people don't even realize. I am so excited about how this process actually unlocks the potential of stagnant stuff on someone's shelf and brings meaning to another person's life! The founder of Goodwill, Edgar Helms, once said that they are reclaiming the value of both things and people.
There is a donation impact calculator at http://donate.goodwill.org where you can see exactly what can happen with your lamps, books, sweaters, and shoes. Here are some examples:
- 5 pairs of shoes, 3 dresses and 2 purses = 1 hour of career counseling
- 1 bike and 5 video games = 1 hour of resume preparation
- 1 working computer = 8.1 hours of on-the-job training
- 2 chairs and a TV = 1.2 hours of a financial planning class
- 10 CDs or DVDs = 50 minutes of a job search class
The mission at Goodwill is to help people who face barriers to finding employment, whether that means they lack education, they lack skills, or they have a disability or other barriers. Goodwill puts people to work, and not just in their retail stores. Most people don't realize that Goodwill agencies have commercial services contracts like assembly work and custodial and groundskeeping services, and temporary staffing agencies, and they are constantly and tirelessly working to place people in jobs everywhere in the community. Don't you agree that is more important than ever?
To celebrate America Recycles Day, I suggest doing three things:
- DONATE to Goodwill.
- Organize your actual recycling in your home. If you can't fit bins in your kitchen or pantry, establish an intermediary spot where the family knows they should put recycling, like a smaller bin or a certain place on the countertop. Then someone can take it all and sort it into your bins in the garage or elsewhere once every day or so.
- Communicate with your city or waste disposal company about what you'd like to see change with your recycling services. Austin has gone to "single stream" recycling, meaning they provide everyone with a giant rolling bin and you throw it all in together, and it gets sorted at a centralized place. Much easier and more convenient, and many people end up with much less actual garbage as a result.
We don't have another 30 years to get this figured out. Look for the recycling symbol and now the DONATE icon, already on Levi's jeans' care labels now. Share your recycling tips in the comments!
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