Green Options » donation

Easter Chicks: How to Give in a Socially Conscious Way

Cate Nelson — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:47:54 +0000

I’m all for everyone getting a set of backyard chickens. I love mine! It’s an easy step in sustainability. Plus, it’s great to see your kiddos literally play with their food, but in a more natural setting.

However, are you just getting those cute lil fuzzy birds for your children for a holiday? No coop, a little bread, and that’s all you need?

Not so much, folks. You can pick up chicks without putting their health in jeopardy. And give yourself a big ol’ pat on the back while you do.

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Surviving Dark Economic Times: A Non-Profit’s Employees Take a Stand

Lisa Wojnovich — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:29:24 +0000

The National Audubon Society, like so many other businesses and organizations in the United States, is struggling with the current economic recession. So much so, that they have made a significant push for contributions from their own employees. Despite salary freezes for this year and the next as well as the threat of layoffs in the near future, Audubon employees have stepped up and pledged $800,000 in voluntary payroll deductions.

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5 Things You Can Do Now to Help Abandoned Pets

Marika Collins — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:08:20 +0000

There are few places in the world that have not been touched in some way by the faltering global economy. A tragic side effect of this phenomenon is the increase in abandoned pets and the resulting stress it continues to place on the shelters trying to care for them.

As someone who lives in a home filled with animals it’s hard to imagine any circumstance in which I would give them up: their care is my top priority. Perhaps if circumstances became so dire that I could not afford to feed them or provide them with adequate medical care, I could see how one might have to come to such a heartbreaking decision.

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$5,000,000 Donation from BPA Supporter: Conflict of Interest, or Business as Usual?

Derek Markham — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:26:13 +0000

Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in products in every area of our lives, from baby bottles to canned food linings. From CDs to helmets. Electronics to dental sealants.

It’s not good for you.

Nalgene stopped using it.

Canada banned it.

California considered banning it, but didn’t.

BPA has been detected in over 90% of Americans tested, and it is possibly linked to breast and prostate cancer. This synthetic hormone may harm the reproductive system of humans. The FDA has studied it and released a draft assessment declaring it safe.

A panel studying the FDA’s draft assessment will soon make a pivotal decision as to whether BPA can continue to be used in contact with food. The chair of the panel is Martin Philbert, who founded and directs the University of Michigan’s Risk Science Center.

The Risk Science Center recently received a $5,000,000 donation (25 times its annual budget) from Charles Gelman, a supporter of BPA, and critic of government regulation. Gelman is a retired industrialist with his own page on SourceWatch. He donates to organizations like the Cato Institute and the Mackinac Center for Policy Research.

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Top Ten Ways to Make Your Wedding Sustainable

Amiel Blajchman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:36:29 +0000

So, the knee has been bent, the question has been asked, the positive answer given. Now comes the (un)fun part: organizing the wedding. Along with choosing the band, the cake, the colour of your linens, some couples are beginning to ask how they can make their special day more sustainable? After the break, sustainablog will present some of our favourite ways of making a wedding into a green wedding.

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Social Responsibilty: Eco Child’s Play Donation

Jennifer Lance — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:05:12 +0000

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When I began Eco Child’s Play over a year and a half ago, I pledged to make Kiva loans on behalf of our blog. After making several Kiva loans, I’ve decided it is time to donate to and highlight different organizations helping families and/or the environment around the world. This month, I have made a donation to Women for Women International on behalf of Eco Child’s Play.

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Google Banned by Myanmar Govt., Still Donates $1 Million to Cyclone Relief

Gavin Hudson — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:14:18 +0000

Despite being banned by the government of Burma (also Myanmar), Google has said that it will donate up to $1 million USD to assist victims of Cyclone Nargis.

Google has offered to match donations made to UNICEF and Direct Relief International for all donations made at Google’s Support disaster relief in Myanmar page, up to one million dollars.

Internet users in Burma reported that access to Google and Gmail had been blocked by the strict military junta governing the country in the summer of 2006. By this time, Yahoo and Hotmail had already made the censored IT blacklist.

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Wisconsin Grad. Student Files for Divorce… From His Car

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:15:53 +0000

Not satisfied to “go carless,” or even have a carectomy performed, University of Wisconsin Ph.D. candidate David Zaks has announced his plans to divorce his car. Fortunately, the car is taking it well, and moving on… to New Orleans, in fact, to help out with post-Katrina reconstruction efforts. Help David finalize his divorce… we all need support at times like these.

Weekend

serenity_ii — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:26:32 +0000

So I wouldn’t say we were incredibly green this weekend, but we were relatively green.

The dude who lives on the other side of Mr. Obsessively Mowing hadn’t mowed in a long time–longer than it had been for us. So on the weekend, he mowed his yard. . .with a riding mower. . .then used a weedwhacker. . .then used a leafblower. . .then mowed again. . .while smoking. Way to cancel out your lack of pollution, dude.

Bill mowed too–with our reel mower, of course. He is much faster at that than I am. It’s nice to have all the leaves to enrich our soil.

We drove about 40 miles in an old pickup to go on a bike/trike ride. The colors were beautiful, we got to see some cool stuff, and it was a blast! In the beginning I was pulling the kiddo and was having trouble keeping up with Bill, but on the way back he pulled the kiddo and I got up in the 20 MPH range three times (I wouldn’t be utterly shocked to learn I was going 30 the first time, although it was probably more like 25).

We had a picnic. It wasn’t completely environmentally friendly, but we did pretty well. I used baby food containers to hold the pumpkin seeds we scooped out of our pumpkins when we made jack-o’-lanterns. We have two kinds of seeds–salted and sugar & spice. We took pudding (containers are recyclable), applesauce (organic, again in a baby food container), sandwiches (reusable containers), juice (in reused juice bottles), tap water (in Klean Kanteens), baby food (recyclable containers), organic chocolate, not-so-organic chocolate, fruit strips, granola bites, and I don’t know what all. It was an awesome feast, if I do say so myself. I did take a Ziploc bag to hold the silverware so it wouldn’t get the picnic bag messy. We used one recycled napkin.

I gave my son one of my old toys this weekend. Well, really it’s more like four of my old toys that are compatible.

We went to Goodwill to donate a whole bunch of stuff. Clothes, chairs, cookware, drinkware. . .so now there’s more space for the stuff we’ll actually use, which is nice. . .especially in the cookware department. Led to some interesting discussion:

Bill: Why did we get rid of the silicone brownie pan?

Karen: Because we have two glass ones now, so we don’t need to use something that gives off a smell when I use it.

Bill: But we kept our silicone muffin pan.

Karen: That’s because that’s the only one we have left, so if we give it away and I have a cupcake emergency, I’m in trouble. Don’t worry, there’s an iron one on my Christmas list.

Bill: That sounds light.

Karen: But good for us!

Bill: Until somebody drops it on a toe.

Karen: Well, would you rather have a broken toe or cancer?!

Bill: Well. . .either one would take a long time to heal. . .

He does raise a good point. Our gorgeous stainless steel pots and pans are pretty lightweight, but the other stuff we’re converting to is all pretty heavy. I have trouble holding my terra cotta roasting pan steady in one hand (it weighs about nine pounds), which makes it hard to scrape stuff out of it into a container. The glass stuff isn’t too bad, but the iron stuff is heavy and slightly complicated to take care of, since it can’t go in the dishwasher and has to be seasoned. Still, I’m sure it’s worth it. I’ve been smiling a lot in the kitchen lately.

Daily Tip: Donate Your Prescription Eyeglasses

Amy Stodghill — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:39:27 +0000

When you get a new eyeglass prescription, even though your old pair of specs will no longer be useful to you they might be useful to someone else. Next time you get new frames, instead of throwing your glasses away donate them to an organization that will give the gift of sight to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

Several charity organizations accept your old prescription glasses to help people in the U.S. and in countries around the world see better. Eyeglasses donations provide children ability to do schoolwork, and give adults independence and the ability to read again or to find better work. When you donate your glasses they are sorted by volunteers, who then determine the prescription, clean and re-package the glasses for various organizations that offer free eye care services and dispense glasses to those who need them.

Where to donate:

Lions Clubs across the U.S. accept donations of prescription eyeglasses. Lions Clubs also operate and have collection sites in Australia, Canada, France, South Africa, Spain and Italy.
LensCrafters donates eyecare services and accepts prescription glasses which are then distributed through their charitable vision care programs under the Give the Gift of Sight foundation.
New Jersey based New Eyes for the Needy also accepts glasses via mail.

Further information from Green Options:

Top 15 Charity Search Engines: Donate to Charity for Free

Daily Tip: Clothes Runneth Over

Daily Tip: Free Swap Party!

Donate to Charity When Buying or Selling Your House