Written by Marketing Intern Rose Provine
Oprah Winfrey has been known to emphasize de-cluttering in her television show and magazine, and offers a number of tips to get you started in the organizational process. Last year, Winfrey led by example, selling her extra “junk” on eBay. She donated all proceeds earned from these items to her charity, Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, which educates and turns South African girls from impoverished backgrounds into the country’s future leaders. The auction ended up raising $145,000 for the academy.
You, too, can make a difference with your old clutter. Instead of throwing away these items that have accumulated over time, donate them to a worthwhile organization. This week’s focus: kids items.
Kid Flicks was founded in 2002 by Lexi, Romi, Marni and Berni Barta. These four sisters were getting rid of their collection of DVDS that they had outgrown over the years. A friend of theirs had been treated for leukemia, and the girls were aware that she often watched movies to distract her while she was in the hospital. So they took the stack of movies to the Pediatric Oncology Department of the Los Angeles hospital, where the donation was greatly welcomed. When they realized how much the children appreciated these movies, they wanted to do more. The girls created Kid Flicks, which takes donations of DVDS and distributes them to different hospital throughout the United States and South Africa. As of February 2011, Kid Flicks has donated 57,000 movies to 570 different hospitals. To donate your DVDS, visit http://www.kidflicks.org/donate/.
Donate Games was founded by Jim Carol in 2008, after his 11-year-old son, Taylor, was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer. While living in Seattle Children’s Hospital for nearly a year during Taylor’s chemotherapy, Carol witnessed his son’s interest and excitement in video games. He believed these games played a huge role in helping him and other children get better, and other families agreed. Donate Games is an organization that accepts used game donations and resells them online, donating all proceeds to support orphan disease research. To donate your old video games or to make a purchase that benefits orphan disease research, visit www.donategames.org.
Stuffed Animals for Emergencies (SAFE) is a non-profit organization that is run entirely by volunteers. They collect stuffed animals, toys, books and baby blankets to give to children who are suffering from illness, accidents, neglect, abuse, homelessness, fires, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. SAFE collects new and used items, and cleans those that are used. Donate your old items and help a child when they need it most! For information about how to donate, visit http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/How_to_Donate.html.
The Children’s Book Project was created to help build literacy by providing free, new and used books to children who need them. This foundation has given away over 1.5 million books, has helped thousands of children build home libraries, and has provided books for thousands of classroom and school libraries. To make donations, visit http://sites.google.com/site/childrensbookprojecttest/contribute.
You won’t have to feel guilty about giving away your old stuff because you’ll be giving back to a good cause. Start de-cluttering your home and donate your excess items today!
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