AREA 7 - Fundraising & Resources

RESOURCES REQUIRED BY
CHARITIES etc.

In the years since 1998, when this website first began, people across the world have become more aware of the need to recycle items wherever possible, instead of letting them go to landfill. Below are some of the requests we've received (as far as we know, still ongoing) for various items, along with details of how other things can usefully be passed on, to benefit others.

CHANGING THE WORLD ONE GIFT AT A TIME

Take a look at the Freecycle network. This covers the UK, right across the USA, Canada and Germany, and their "International" page includes countries across the globe, ranging from Australia and New Zealand to Argentina, Trinidad, the Philippines and Spain [Freecycle operates in 120 countries at time of updating this page (8th December 2010), more than double the number when we originally publicised this network].

Basically Freecycle allows people to give away items to those living near to them (all items advertised have to be *FREE*). There are endless groups within the UK, USA, Canada and Germany, and the UK alone has well over 400 groups (more than four times as many as a few years ago). If there isn't an existing group in your area of the world ... then start one, to make it possible for people in your local area to join. Instructions on how to do this appear on the freecycle "website changes faq" page..

If you're under 18 we'd request that you ask your parents to join Freecycle (rather than you signing up). Freecycle enables making contact with people in your local area, to give things away or receive them, but obviously we don't recommend *any* situation where you yourself meet up with strangers. Their "website changes faq" page explains more about potential risk factors.

The Freecycle project is however a *wonderful* concept and will potentially make a whole lot of difference to people across the world, particularly those on low-incomes or otherwise disadvantaged. Our congratulations to Deron Beal, of Tucson Arizona, who founded this amazing organization.

TOOLS for developing countries - "TWAM - TOOLS WITH A MISSION - is a Christian Charity which sends gifts of good quality tools into many countries. It enables those who receive them to earn a living and change their world" - website at http://www.twam.co.uk.

The types of tools TWAM sends is very wide-ranging - see the tool list on their site for full details - and they have various collection centres around the UK. See also their "weblinks" page for details of their sister organization 'Aid to Hospitals Worldwide', which recycles medical equipment, and for other organizations including one which takes bikes to Africa and teaches the skills for repairs and servicing.

Books for developing countries? see ALA resource page; scroll down for non-USA addresses.

Computers for developing countries? see Computer Aid International who accept surplus computer and have so far supplied over 175,000 PCs to Africa and Latin America; there is also a facility on their website for educational institutions and community organizations in developing countries to apply for donated computer equipment. See also the entry further down this page about Recycling Computers.

Do you need paint, or have unused cans to donate? see Community RePaint

BIKES FOR AFRICA

Do you have a spare bike? Jole Rider (based in the UK) is shipping bikes to Africa, so that kids can get to school. Over 50,000 children in The Gambia alone, can't get to their nearest school because it's too far to walk. Some children walk 10k EACH WAY, every day, and many have further than that to travel.

Jole Rider sets up permanent, fully equipped bike repair workshops in schools in Africa and provides training for school students in maintaining their own bikes.

Their aim is to establish bike maintenance workshops in African and UK schools, and to provide opportunities for UK students to travel to Africa for a 7 or 10 day programme, to combine with fellow students of different cultures and to gain practical, engineering-based skills development around a favourite teenage topic - bikes.

To find out more, see their website here, and their Bikes 4 Africa and Books 4 Africa pages..

BABY CLOTHES

We have received regular enquiries from people in different parts of the country, asking where they can usefully pass on children's outgrown clothing, to help disadvantaged kids in some way.

The Salvation Army takes donations of children's clothing for redistributing to the less fortunate in many areas of the world.

At time of writing, the National Childbirth Trust runs Nearly New Sales (for clothes, toys and equipment) in many towns in the UK (buyers and sellers both welcome). More info at their website here. For the National Childbirth Trust entry in the Project HappyChild Directory, please click here.

ITEMS REQUIRED BY THE BETESDA FOUNDATION helping street children in Romania

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Update - "our farm is growing, we have now 30 pigs, cows, etc. ... but from the experiences of the past years what we need now most urgently is an irrigation system for our ground which is now three hectares" ... please help if you can.

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The Betesda Foundation is developing a Micro Farm project to help fund its ongoing work of providing homes for street children and supporting those at risk through poverty. They have use of land and utilities but urgently need the following:

* Agriculture equipment - tractors, planters, a combine harvester, machinery for animal feed, ploughs, an irrigation system, incubators.

* Processing equipment for milk, ice-cream, cheese, bread and pastries.

* Carpentry tools for wood carving and design.

If you can help, please e-mail Benu Bulugu - benub [at] yahoo.com .

More details about the Foundation's work with street children are available on their Appeal page.

*** Help requested by Military Regiments

We have a request on site from a British Army Regiment in Bosnia, undertaking landmines awareness training for children, for small gifts of pens, pencils, crayons and paper. If you're able to send a small package it would be very much appreciated - we're told the cost of postage to BFPO addresses from the UK is the same as inland charges. [please note we are currently awaiting an updated postal address for this appeal]

Our thanks to all visitors to Project HappyChild who responded to the Appeal (on site from December 1999) from Scott McDonald, Task Force Falcon, USA, for supplies, such as pens, pencils, crayons, paper for the school sponsored by the 709th MP Battalion in Kosovo.
Scott McDonald's follow-up letter of 6th December 2001 is included on the previous Appeal page.

COMPUTER RECYCLING

We have received numerous requests for computer equipment, and for how/where second-hand machines can be obtained for schools, organizations, individual children or families.

Whilst some organizations within the UK help individuals, most major computer recycling charities outside the UK seem to benefit only non-profit-type organizations, so to locate help for an individual family it is probably best to key in "donations computer location" into Google [no quotes, and replace "location" by the state or county where you live] - also check out the "Freecycle" Network linked from the top of this page [click here].

If you're reading this and work for a firm which has recently upgraded its computers and has some older machines you'd like to find a good home for, please do contact your nearest computer-recycling organization.

Organizations which accept donated computers (at time of updating this entry) include:
Computer Aid International
REI (computers Yorkshire/Humber)
Donate a PC [single computer donations matched with requirements of UK charities, non-profits and educational establishments]
Computers for Charity [UK mainland]
Oxfam UK
Community Computers [Somerset]
Second Byte IT [Lincolnshire - includes computers for low-income families]
Computers for the Disabled [UK only]
Digital Links [UK-based - supplies to schools, hospitals and communities in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe]

POSTAGE STAMPS

We've had a lot of enquiries about donating postage stamps! and our thanks to the many people who have simply put their collection in an envelope and sent them to us here. However ..... it usually costs more to post them than the recycled stamps are actually worth, and we have *finally* found a "local" solution.

Nearly every town in the UK has an Oxfam shop ..... and at the time of writing this, Oxfam shops accept used postage stamps. So please continue collecting! but just take them to your local Oxfam shop, if you can.

Oxfam also accept the following items: used mobile phones, coins and banknotes (any currency), laser and inkjet cartridges - more details on their page here. Further down that page is a link to a list of recycling contacts who can make use of many other types of recyclable items.

TOY LIBRARIES

The National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries provides information about Toy Libraries across the UK.

Please click here to reach their entry in the Project HappyChild Directory.

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