Good Works (Part 4): Let Old Glossies Shine

Here's the last post of my charitable givings series, and it's a pretty short one (thank goodness, right?). I'm sure that most people subscribe to magazines, and if you subscribe to weeklies, there's the problem of what to do with all the issues that starts to pile up. At the minimum, they should be recycled, but there are places that can make more use of them than the recycling plant.

The obvious place is a school or public library. Public libraries can always use a second copy of something they already have, and if they don't want to use it, they can sell it for a dime or a quarter to make some chump change. Sometimes school libraries appreciate them as well. However, there are places least expected that really need them. Last year my school had a clothing/sundries drive for battered women shelters; during the course of that, I was surprised to learn that one of the things these shelters need is reading materials. I also learned during my jury duty that the courthouse wants new reading materials for the jury room.

Donating reading materials is not exactly a popular way of giving, since the logistics is more involved than simply giving money, canned goods, or clothing, but it's something to consider nonetheless. Lest any of the institutions think you're crazy and trying to foist junk upon them, call ahead to see if the donations are needed. If accepted, cut out your address from the cover. Blacking out with a marker just doesn't work well enough because people can still see through.

Since I'm rushing to get things done the rest of this week, I won't be posting again until next Wednesday at the earliest. I'll probably review any sales that I choose to check out, and then I'll talk about my bag lining project.