Archive for the ‘Good Deeds You Can Do’ Category

Not just talking trash

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

The other night my son announced to my husband and me that he wanted to go to the park and pick up trash this weekend. He apparently was inspired by a book he was reading before bedtime. I’m all for helping the environment, so the next day I called “Keep Akron Beautiful” to get ideas of where to go. So yesterday afternoon, wearing latex gloves and carrying plastic grocery store bags, there the five of us were at Hardesty Park, picking up all kinds of litter. My daughters lost interest after about 20 minutes, but my son raced from trash item to trash item. He was so excited !! We didn’t change the world yesterday, but, thanks to my son’s idea, at least we made a teeny tiny difference.

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A random act of kindness

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Three times in the last couple months people leaving a restaurant, seeing me alone with the kids, have given me a coupon for that restaurant that they couldn’t use for one reason or another. A small act, but one that has saved me some money and made me appreciate the random thoughtfulness of others. Thanks!

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You can recycle packing peanuts …

Monday, December 14th, 2009

… at the PostNet store in Akron’s Merriman Valley. I don’t know if all shipping stores recycle them, but it’s worth asking about if you don’t want to just throw all those white suckers away.

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A win-win for singles, community

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

A common complaint from singles is that they have nothing to do and/or no one to do it with. So what an absolutely great idea is “Single Volunteers“! There are chapters across the country; unfortunately, the one in Akron just closed, but there is one in Northeast Ohio: www.svohio.org. Basically, you go on their Web site to see a listing of events where you can volunteer, pick an event, then let the Event Coordinator know you’ll be helping. You can take tickets at a haunted house, call bingo numbers at a nursing home, sort coats for “Coats for Kids”, or serve dinner at a homeless center, to name just a few. They also have a bunch of social events, too, like canoe rides or meeting at a bar to watch a Browns game. There are no dues, no commitments, nothing to buy. Only requirements are that you’re at least 21 and single. Someone I know who lives in a Cleveland suburb has been a “Single Volunteer” the last few months and loves it. Spread the word!

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Where to recycle phone books in the Akron area

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

River Valley Paper Company, headquartered in Akron, has paper collection boxes located all over the area (see list here) and they recycle phone books and cardboard, two items which Paper Retriever, a company which also has collection boxes around town, does not accept. Just so you know!!

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Area artists load up on free treasures

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

I had gotten a couple e-mails about “ZeroLandfill“, an award-winning beneficial reuse effort that tries to keep stuff out of landfills by offering it to artists, arts educators, etc. For two Saturdays in downtown Akron, anyone could grab as much carpet, tile wallpaper and fabric samples (as well as empty binders) as they wanted and take the stuff for FREE. According to their Web site, they distributed about 6,400 lbs. in just 8 hours. Later this year they will be in Cleveland, Columbus, Louisville, Toledo, Boston and more. It’s a great idea, don’t you think? Now I just have to figure out what to do with the boxes of stuff I came home with!!

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Box Tops 4 Education

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Here’s an easy way to do a good deed – clip your “Box Tops 4 Education“ box tops and send them in to a nearby school. Even if you don’t have kids in school, surely there must be a school somewhere near you, or you have grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. to pass them along to. Each box top is worth 10 cents, and according to the Web site, schools across the country have earned over $250 million in 12 years! I know our family alone probably collects 20 or so box tops a month! So before you just toss that box of cereal or pizza rolls or whatever in the trash, think about taking a minute to clip the box top and pass it along!

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Paper Retrievers

Monday, January 26th, 2009

If you don’t have paper recycling at your home and/or work, please think about taking your stuff to one of the Paper Retriever big yellow/green bins all over town. They recycle:

* Newspapers   * Magazines   * Mail   * School and office paper   *Catalogs

The place that has the bin on its property gets money for this, depending on the amount collected.  It’s good for the schools or churches that host the bins and it’s good for the environment. A definite win-win situation for something that is actually very easy to get into the habit of doing!!

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Give Blood

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

If you can donate, do it. You can save a life! Check the Red Cross’  Web site for a location near you. They have blood drives everywhere. It’s a nice thing to do in general, but if you’ve ever known anyone who needed blood transfusions (like cancer patients), you know how much it matters.

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