Beyond Folders : charity, giving back

The Coat Off Your Back

Community Manager — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:19:00 GMT

Multitasking gets a bad rap: sometimes doing two things at the same time makes perfect sense. Take organizing; when you streamline and edit your belongings down to the things you truly use and value, you create the opportunity to donate unwanted items to those who might better use them. Think of it as purging for a cause.

Take a look around your home. Have stacks of unread newspapers? Turns out the ASPCA can use shredded newspapers for animals' cages. Outgrown clothes? Dozens of organizations will happily take them off your hands. The same applies to unneeded cars, unneeded sports gear and even books and toys.

If charitable giving is on your mind in 2013, we've rounded up a list of organizations that would love the coat off your back (or those toys off your floor!).

Household Items

Goodwill

Mission: Helps people with barriers to employment learn job skills.

Donations Accepted: Clothing, electronics, appliances, furniture, and more.

Salvation Army

Mission: Community programs, homeless services, rehabilitation, disaster relief.
Donations Accepted: Clothing, furniture, household goods, sporting equipment, books, electronics, and more

Vietnam Veterans of America

Mission: Provides aid to Vietnam-era veterans and their families.
Donations Accepted: Clothing, baby items, house wares, electronics, small appliances, tools, and other items.

Volunteers of America

Mission: Supports individuals struggling with challenges such as at-risk youth; the frail elderly; men and women returning from prison; homeless individuals and families; people with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions.
Donations Accepted: Clothing, furniture, toys, and household goods for their thrift stores.

Dress for Success

Mission: Provides interview suits and career development advice to low-income women in over 75 cities worldwide.
Donations Accepted: Women's business suits and other professional apparel, footwear, and accessories.

Career Gear

Mission: Provides low income job-seeking men with training, career counseling, interviews, and professional clothing.
Donations Accepted: Men's suits, dress shirts, ties, shoes, briefcases, and other interview-appropriate clothing.

Soles4Souls

Mission: Distributes shoes to people in need in over 125 countries.
Donations Accepted: All types of new or gently-worn shoes: athletic, running, dress, sandals, pumps, heels, work boots, cleats, dance, and flip flops.

Stuffed Animals & Toys

SAFE (Stuffed Animals for Emergencies)

Mission: Collects items for children in emotional, traumatic, or stressful situations such as natural and manmade disasters.
Donations Accepted: New or gently-used stuffed animals.

Ronald McDonald House

Mission: Provides a "home-away-from-home" for families with hospitalized children.
Donations Accepted: New toys, food, and household products.

Electronics

World Computer Exchange

Mission: Provides used computers and technology to schools, libraries, community centers & universities in developing countries.
Donations Accepted: Computers, laptops, printers, hard drives, peripherals, software, and more.

Cell Phones for Soldiers

Mission: Recycles cell phones for money to purchase calling cards for troops.
Donations Accepted: Used cell phones.

Cars

Kars for Kids

Mission: National organization addressing the educational, emotional and spiritual needs of Jewish children and their families.

Donations Accepted: All types of vehicles, including cars, trucks, SUVs, motor homes, boats, airplanes, farm equipment, and construction equipment.

Habitat for Humanity Cars for Homes

Mission: Builds and rehabilitates houses for families in need.
Donations Accepted: Cars, trucks, boats, RVs, motorcycles, and construction equipment.

American Diabetes Association

Mission: The prevention and cure of diabetes.
Donations Accepted: Cars, trucks, trailers, boats, and RVs.

National Kidney Foundation Kidney Cars

Mission: Funds programs and medical research to prevent and treat kidney disease.
Donations Accepted: Cars, vans, trucks, and boats.

Talking Turkey: How to Work Charitable Giving into the Holidays

Community Manager — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:46:00 GMT

Chances are your Thanksgiving table was groaning with goodies, leaving plenty of leftovers to tide you over for the weekend. For countless of Americans who rely on food banks for their meals, turkeys were in short supply this year. Donations to food banks have been drying up, even as demand for their services increases.

This holiday season, as you count your many blessings, you may wish to share your good fortune with your fellow Americans who are down on their luck. We've rounded up a selection of national organizations that match volunteers to organizations in need.

Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." This holiday season make it a "wonderful life," by extending yourself to others.

VolunteerMatch: National non-profit that connects "good people and good causes." Volunteers can search by location, interest or ability; the organization serves both volunteers, organizations and corporate participants.

HandsOn Network: The largest volunteer network in the nation; HandsOn includes a powerful network of more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations. Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service.

Feeding America: Non-profit leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Helps feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks.

Do you have a favorite charity you support at the holidays? How do you work volunteering into your holiday calendar? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Organizing to Do Good: Working Charity into Your Life

Community Manager — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:47:00 GMT

When your days are jam-packed with the competing demands of work and family, finding time for volunteer work often falls by the wayside. Make volunteering time a priority: when you volunteer, you not only do good, you feel good.

Creative thinking and careful planning are the keys to working volunteering into your life. We've rounded up some suggestions to help you add volunteering into the equation. Ideas include:

Make volunteering a family event. Volunteering as a family is a rewarding way to spend quality time with your kids, while simultaneously passing along your values.
Explore your company policies regarding volunteering during the work day; many companies give their employees time to volunteer throughout the year.
Make it social; many community groups emphasize volunteering. You can meet friends, expand your network and contribute to your community.
Not all volunteering needs to be formal or done through an organization. Snow days present opportunities to shovel for elderly neighbors or offer to grocery shop for a new mom. The possibilities are endless.
Maximize spring and fall cleaning to donate gently worn clothes and household items that are no longer needed.
School holidays such as Veterans Day and MLK Day are wonderful chances to schedule volunteer time with your children.
Consider a volunteer vacation, where you travel to another part of the world to tutor or build homes with groups such as Habitat for Humanity.

Finally, we leave you with a useful article from the IRS with tips for claiming charitable deductions to lower your tax bill. Who doesn't want a lower tax bill? Talk about do good, feel good.

How do you work volunteering into your busy schedule? Do you have any tips for making volunteering a family activity? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.