Day 151: about 20 buttons and $1.71 postage

I read a post on Freecycle last night that requested buttons for a Girl Scout project.  The poster did not want to travel too far out of her normal routes to pick up buttons for her daughter (who can blame her).  I knew that I had a whole box full of buttons--I save them when they come attached to a new sweater or other item of clothing.  I reasoned that I would probably never actually sit down and sew a button back on to an item of clothing.  I mean, it's a possibility, just not a probability.  Since my goal for the week was to give away more household items that I am not using, I thought this opportunity fit perfectly.  I emailed the poster this morning and asked if I could mail her the buttons (no charge).  She responded, noted that this was a kind gesture with her words and no less than two exclamation marks, and supplied her address.  I'll send the buttons this afternoon!  I wonder what the project entails.

Day 150: $1 to Children's Hospital

Memorial Day.  It was over 90 degrees today, so on the way home from a Wal-mart too far away (buying a weed whacker only they had in stock) my sister and I drove through a nice looking Dairy Queen.  She got a blizzard, I got a cone.   I noticed that their drive thru window was plastered with Children's Hospital hot air balloon cut-outs signifying donations, so I asked the very nice young woman at the window if they were still collecting.  She said yes, and I asked if she would take my dollar donation.  She was so appreciative, as if I was donating to her directly.  I wonder if she doesn't get that many donations at the drive-thru.

My goal for the coming week is to find more home items that I don't need anymore.  We'll see how it goes.

Day 149: $1 to St. Jude Children's Research Fund

My sister and I had lunch together at McAllister's Deli today.  They have a delicious turnkey sandwich special with spicy mayo and guacamole.  They are also collecting money for St. Jude's research fund for childhood cancers.  They had hose requisite pieces of paper with names of people who had donated strung up everywhere, but I didn't go for that.  Instead, I just put my dollar in the plastic collection box--which was brimming with money.  I wonder why they are so successful collecting money there?

Later in the day, I saw at least two more opportunities to donate, and I passed them up.  I can't give everything away, right?  And I can always go back if so inclined.

Day 148: Writing Down the Bones to a California prison

Well, this was an interesting opportunity.  On a listserv I belong to for the Miami University English Department, a forwarded email came across that piqued my interest.  An inmate from CTF North, a prison on Soledad, California, wrote a pretty passionate plea for books about writing.  He wrote that the prisoners "rely on the written word to give their existence some relief."  He went on to say that some prisoners would even like grammar books (imagine that) to be better able to compose thoughtful and grammatically correct letters home.  In prison, he says, "there are journalers and doodlers and poets.  There are essayists and
short story writers."  The email reminded me how figures like Malcolm X and Jimmy Santiago Baca taught themselves to read and write in prison, a feat that seems almost impossible to those of us in run-of-the-mill America.

The only pat of this that I don't enjoy is my lingering fear that the email is a straight-out lie.  So many items that come across email are fraudulent that I would be a fool not to consider the possibility.  I even Googled the prison this morning--it's real.  And I inspected the email for tell-tale signs of fraud--none.  Giving away a copy of Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones also causes me no pain (besides the cost and time of the mailing).  I have access to the book at school, and I actually own more than one copy myself. 

I just hope this donation turns out to be true.

Day 147: Charmin Freshmates

This one is an odd giveaway, and actually not completed yet.  By purchasing Charmin toilet paper for my household, I was able to procure two free packs of Charmin Freshmates--those after-bathroom wipes modeled after baby wipes.  I'm not sure why (perhaps multiple reasons), but I've never been really that into "adult wipes."  I think it's funny that Charmin calls them "Freshmates."  Some Down Under friend who only shows up in the bathroom on the back of the toilet tank, I suppose.

Here's the problem:  I posted the offer on Freecycle last night and thought I would get a bite right away.  That's usually how Freecycle works--the one man's trash metaphor and all.  But to my surprise, not one person has replied.  Maybe no one really likes Freshmates.  Maybe Charmin should stop making them.

I'm going to let my offer stand on Freecycle, then I might even re-post it if I still don't get any responses.  Following that, I will take the wipes to a drive for tornado victims at a local Kroger.  If you get past the bathroom aspect, they really are just cleaning wipes, right??

Day 146: 12 pack of Diet Sun Drop on Freecycle

You can get rid of anything in the world on Freecycle.  I accidentally purchased this drink--Diet Sun Drop--without realizing that it is LOADED with caffeine.  I remember actually drinking one not too long ago and feeling seriously jittery afterward.  That's when I Googled it and realized the insanity that is Diet Sun Drop.  I don't need extra caffeine in my life (except for one morning coffee), so I posted the item on Freecycle.  Within 10 minutes I had two replies both willing to pick up the soda within a few hours.  I went with the first person who replied, and the Diet Sun Drop was off to a better, more caring, thirstier home (and one that apparently needs caffeine). 

Some people might have just returned the drinks to the grocery store where purchased.  Those people keep receipts.  In general, I only keep scarps of paper by accident--in pockets or in the bottom of my purse to be discovered a year later.  I also do not like hunting for receipts. I find that game as annoying as hunting for matching socks.

Day 145: $20 in bagels and 50 cents to Share the Bread

I stopped at Panera this morning to buy my students (I only have 10 left) some bagels.  I purchased 18 bagels sliced into quarters and four tubs of cream cheese. I also fished out 50 cents from my wallet to donate to Share the Bread.  So, that's a bit of breads and spreads!  While my students didn't at all of the bagels, they were all consumed by teachers before the end of 5th period.  Nothing went to waste.  Almost all of the cream cheese was eaten except for one unopened container that I brought home.  It was a nice day.  The only real drawback to today was that I had to take my car in for repairs and now I'm facing a huge bill.  (This doesn't even include getting the air conditioner fixed.)  Yikes.

Day 144: $1 to Relay for Life

An opportunity came across my email today while at school.  A woman from the transportation department sent an email about raffle tickets to support her Relay for Life team.  It was so easy.  I put $1 in an envelope and sent it to Sue Tuttle through the inter-office mail system here at school.  I love it when easy opprtunities to give show up, especially when it's for a cause that is worthy and when real people and making a real effort to do something worthwhile.  Who know, I might even win one of the baskets being raffled off.

Day 143: 10 pounds of fruit to Feeding America

Simply by uploading a picture of my cat with an orange in her mouth (bad photoshopping) I was able to donate 10 pounds of fruit to Feeding America.  All of this is sponsored by Lunchables.  I saw an ad for it in People magazine.  I had an incredibly crappy day today (spent 3.5 hours--not exaggerating--at Valvoline instant oil change).  Nothing instant about that.  When I finally escaped the hell that is the drive thru oil change and came home to realize my check engine light was now on, I had nothing to give and no desire to give.  The orange picture kind of made me happy though.  How could it not?  It looks something like this.

Day 142: Black Sandals

Another failed purchase for my chubby, hard-to-fit feet.  These sandals, which looked almost exactly like a comfortable pair that I wore all last summer, only cost me $20.  Still, I only got to wear them twice.  They were so tight across the top that I worried I was doing some sort of permanent damage the other night.  You know it's bad when you are in a professional setting and you start picturing what exactly would happen if you actually took off your shoes.  How would people react?  It's like when you're feeling sick to your stomach.  As soon as you picture yourself throwing up, you've crossed that threshold.  So I crossed the threshold with these brand new sandals, which fit just fine in the store, but almost made me into a heroine from a Pearl S. Buck novel when I wore them out. Never fear, I bough a pair of brown sandals yesterday.

Day 141: $1 to Children's Hospital

After a failed attempt to donate to a care package for troops (the center was closed), I went to Sam's Club today with my sister.  She noticed that they were collecting donations for Children's Hospital through the Children's Miracle Network, so I was able to donate $1. I believe this may be the third time (maybe more) that I have donated to Children's Miracle Network.  I really should look up more info about the organization, but if  a company like Sam's/Walmart is allowing them to collect donations, you would assume that they have been vetted and are a legitimate and helpful organization. 

I've been wondering lately why I haven't been feeling a donation high--a brief little bit of good feeling after donating.  Instead, I've just been feeling a donation relief.  It could be the types of donating I've been doing lately.  It could be the monotony.  I'll have to think about it more.

Day 140: 8 copies of Frankenstein

I've been buying and collecting copies of Frankenstein for the past semester, and today I was able to give a copy to each of my juniors in AP Language.  These students are all taking AP Literature next year and have to read the book over the summer.  It was fun to be able to give them this gift, especially since I've been hoarding them for so long.  I also gave 58 cents to Crayons to Computers today at the White Castle drive thru where I purchased both a coffee and a Diet Coke (it was that kind of Friday morning).

Day 139: $10 to public radio

I had so much to do on this day, that when I was driving home for a short break before heading out to a meeting and heard a plea on WVXU for a donation, I decided to give.  It was incredibly easy to text the word "radio" to the number they gave.  I love public radio, but like many people, I never donate.  I had a tinge of regret here, too.  I don't have a ton of money, and have many things I need to be saving for, so donating to public radio seems like a real luxury.  Oh well.  I did it.  Not sure if I'm happy about it or not.  Why can't anyone ever ask for five dollars?

Day 138: 50 cents to Eagle Eatery

Today was the final Eagle Eatery, so I was happy to donate the change from my lunch price to the program.  We even received nice notes from the special education students in our lunches.  They explained how the money they had raised through the program had contributed to their field trips and other programs.  I hope Eagle Eatery gets to continue next year. 

Day 137: $1 to Children's Miracle Network

I'm unsure if this donation will ever really get to the Children's Miracle Network.  On the way home form school, I called my sister who requested a Blizzard from Dairy Queen because she had been feeling ill all day.  At DQ they have an outside bin to dump your change into--just like McDonald's.  Of course, I was paying with plastic because I rarely have enough cash for anything these days, so I scraped together $1 in change (at first I was just going to go with the 75 cents) to throw in the plastic bin.  The bin contained a very small amount of change, but at least three straw wrappers.  That's the part that made me sad and doubtful about the destination of my donation.  I could be wrong. Hopefully. 

Day 136: Green shirt (blouse?)

Not sure what qualifies as a shirt or a blouse these days.  Does a blouse have to have buttons?  Anyway, this top was hardly worn (it was a little too small) so I gave it the heave-ho today.  I think I bought the shirt--it was a sort of ugly green color--because it matched a patterned skirt perfectly.  The problem was that while the colors matched, the whole ensemble didn't look all that great.  I retrieved it out of my "probably won't wear" drawer. I have to admit, though, I had a little trouble finding something I was willing to part with today.  I looked through plenty of other items--even other items from the "probably won't wear" drawer and still found reasons to hang on to them.  Sometimes I just feel this way about my possessions.  I might need them.  Other days, I feel like I could give away almost all my clothes.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I also gave a pen to my friend Allison today.  This pen had a regular pen on one end, a highlighter on the other, and a little area to hold tiny sticky tabs.  The pen was free for me, though, so it can't really count as that much giving.

Day 135: $1 to tornado relief via Red Cross and a wooden nickel to Loveland Food Pantry

Biggs/Remke markets makes it easy to donate while you check out.  I simply asked the cashier to donate $1 to the relief fund run by the Red Cross.  The sign said the money would go to tornado victims in Alabama. In all, it's usually a better idea to send money to disaster areas than goods.  I read an article on MSNBC today about the absolute chore of sorting through junk that people have "donated." A lot of the people are misplaced--out of house and home-and have no need for toys or old plastic displays.  People are even sending used underwear.  I can't imagine.  The thing is, they do need some goods like water, pet food, tents, etc.  I still think it's best to send money.  Only really together organizations (like maybe Matthew 25) would be able to really deliver goods that were needed and worthwhile.

My smaller donation of the day was to the Loveland Food Pantry.  I donated a wooden nickel at Whole Foods for bringing my own bag. 

Day 134: 4 cans of soup for Stamp Out Hunger

It could not have been easier today.  The post office is collecting non-perishable food items during the regular routes.  I was able to put four cans of soup (tomato, two cans of vegetarian vegetable, and a can of chicken noodle) in a bag in my mailbox.  Simple as that.  The official title of the food drive is Stamp Out Hunger, and I got a postcard about it just yesterday.  I think the idea is really to just look in your pantry and see what you could give to someone else.  It worked.

Day 133: red sandals

These sandals were incredibly comfortable, but looked horrid on me.  They shouldn't be worn by anyone under the age of 50, and in that case a woman 50 or older might even wear them with nude pantyhose underneath.  I just had to get rid of them no matter the comfort level.  My pasty white, chubby feet were not pretty in these and never would be.

Day 132: Six bookmarks for awards night

Tonight was senior awards, and as always I was giving six Excellence in English awards to deserving seniors.  This year the awards coordination was a little off and we didn't have the usual book award.  I was worried that we would be lacking, so I purchased about $36 worth of steel bookmarks with that trite Thoreau quote from Barnes and Noble (they were nice though). It turns out everything was fine.  Each student received the bookmark, a journal, a plaque and a certificate. It was a nice evening, and I'm glad I spent the extra money.

Day 131: 50 cents to Make-A-Wish foundation and about 12 cents to Share the Bread

When I was at Panera this morning for a coffee, I had no cash, and only 12 pennies.  I dug them out of my wallet and put them in the Share the Bread box.  Later, my sister and I went to Maggiano's Little Italy for dinner (delicious). I was so pleased to see that they offered an opportunity to donate as well.  By purchasing a "Leslie's Lemonade," for $3.75, I was able to donate 50 cents to Make-A-Wish.  There were other items to order that might have donated a full dollar, but that wasn't really clear at the time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the peach and pomegranate lemonade, and hopefully it can help get Leslie to Hawaii which is her wish or other children with terminal or tragic diseases have their wishes.

Day 130: Book and candy

I was able to purchase a book for a fellow English teacher American Short Stories 1920 to the Present and give it to her today.  Because our English department has not had a budget for the past five years, I purchased this book with a gift card (a used copy but in good condition). I hate having to tell teachers in my department that I can't get a resource for them, and I need to advocate more for a budget.

I also purchased Hershey kisses for all of my students today.  Why?  Just because.

Day 129: $1 to Crayons to Computers

White Castle makes it incredbily easy to donate money if you are addicted to morning coffee like I am.  Donating to Crayons to Computers, however, is a strange choice for me.  Because the organization offers free resources for teachers, I feel like I should be taking, not giving.  At the same time, I don't.  I really think only teachers at seriously economically disadvanatged schools should take advantage of Crayons to Computers.  On the other hand, I'm not sure how much the general public really understands about how much money teachers (even in the upper-middle class suburbs) put of their own money into the classroom.  It gets old.  And worse, it becomes expected.  Hopefully, my dollar will help in some way.

Day 128: Book to Africa via Out of Print Clothing

Kind of a selfish opportunity for donating today, but I'm good with it all the same.  I ordered a literary t-shirt from Out of Print Clothing for myself. With every order, the company donates a book to Africa through an organization called Books for Africa.  How could you go wrong with that? Granted, the t-shirt was expensive and the monetary value of the donation doesn't really amount to much, but the idea is still there and the concept worthwhile. It took me forever to decide which shirt to get, but I finally settled on The Sun Also Rises.  I wanted a shirt that looked good, and also one that featured a novel I truly love.  This works. Can't wait to get it.  If I like the fit and feel, I will probably be a return shopper.  My student was the one who gave me the info on Out of Print Clothing.

Day 127: $1 to Share the Bread and $1 to Alzheimer's

I had a morning meeting with the new OWP tech team today at Panera (Voice of America location). Since I knew I would be there, I made sure to have a single to donate to the Share the Bread box. It was an incredibly easy way to donate, and I felt my mission was completed for the day. After the meeting I shopped at Target and Hallmark (buying up Mother's Day wares) and then headed to Kroger to use the vending machine for scratch-off lottery tickets.  My mother requires these for all holidays, and I'm incredibly embarrassed to buy them at Kroger or Meijer near my own home; since I was halfway across the world, I decided to stop in the VOA area Kroger.  On the way in, a Kroger employee asked me if I would like to donate to Alzheimer's.  The syntax of that sentence is strange itself, almost like I'm helping the disease of Alzheimer's to become stronger and promulgate, get over the rough patches perhaps.  Anyway, I briefly thought of saying no.  After all, my requirement for the day had already been fulfilled. But I had already spent so much money on myself, and I was, after all , just about to waste $5 on useless lottery tickets, that I felt it would be bad karma to refuse. The can held by the Kroger employee said "Forget-Me-Not," which I thought was a either a relatively good slogan for Alzherimer's or sort of a cruel pun.  Couldn't decide. I know Alzheimer's affects a lot of people and knows no boundaries. So far, I have not been closely affected by the disease, so I feel lucky about that. This donation went to a good cause.  The man entering Kroger right in front of me apparently did not agree because he did not donate. I wonder how much they collected today.

Day 126: Prizes and Books

Today I gave away prizes to my students who won the spelling bell I held in three of my classes.  They weren't much--some jolly rancher gummy candies and some squishy stressball-like creatures of different colors. The fun thing is, students like prizes.  I would be happy if someone gave me a stress ball creature, too.  Most teachers spend money like this (it was probably about $8-$10) on their students.  Some, of course, never do. I wonder if women are more likely to do this than men. 

I was also able to give away five copies of Into Thin Air today to those English teachers who will have seniors next year. I purchased the copies with money from a Barnes and Noble gift card, so it wasn't exactly out-of-pocket; however, the books never would have materialized without me. So often teachers (and especially English teachers) have to purchase their own materials for class.  I know plenty of teachers, including myself, who even end up purchasing books for students.  I've bought sets of Macbeth, Gina has bought Pygmalion, etc... It's annoying, but necessary.  This is probably what made giving these five simple copies of Into Thin Air all the more gratifying for me. I wish they had been purchased by the district.  I wish a lot of supplies were purchased by the district, but that doesn't occur. You do what you can.

Although my giving wasn't really "charitable" today, it was worthy.

Day 125: blue high-heeled shoes

Today was an incredibly frustrating day trying to donate my shoes.  These shoes were really nice, and I still think they are adorable. The problem, as always, was that they didn't fit right. Because the shoes were in such good condition, I really wanted to donate them to Soles for Souls. I traveled to two different locations listed on the website, but to no avail.  To top it off, traffic was horrible and I needed to go home to mow the lawn on this the only day without rain in the past thousand or so. So, I'm sad to say that the shoes ended up in the old white bin that collects clothes, shoes, and books for Special Olympics.

Day 124: $25 to Kiva MicroFunds

I've always been interested in donating to Kiva microfunds which I think is such a laudable organization. For some reason, I could never muster up the will to give $25 which, I think, is the minimum amount. I guess I'm just getting used to donating between one and ten dollars. It feels less painful.  When I discovered that I could redeem my credit card reward points at Charity Choice earlier this year, the idea of giving away $25 became a lot more palatable.  Then I discovered that Kiva is one of the organizations listed on the Charity Choice website. It seemed like a perfect match, but I have one disappointment. I didn't get to choose the person or cause that I wanted to lend money to.  Somehow this seems integral to the whole process.  Maybe I'll have to try out Kiva again, next time trying to not be so damn cheap.

Day 123: $8 to Relay for Life

Today, I matched another English teacher's donation to a student participating in Relay for Life. My student, Julie, only needed $15 more to meet her goal for her Relay for Life team. I told her quite awhile ago that I would be happy to donate, so I'm glad she remembered to ask me. I think her team is called The Super Tall Giraffes (cute).  Actually, all the Milford teams look strong.  I'm so proud of my students.

Day 122: $5 to Childhood Food Solutions

I was able to add $5 on to my weekly Green B.E.A.N Delivery bill today to donate to Childhood Food Solutions which is an local (Cincinnati) organization founded in 2007 to help feed hungry children. I was pleased to have this opportunity, and what's even better is that Green BEAN Delivery matches every donation with a donation of fresh produce.  There is something about donating locally that makes me feel especially useful and satisfied.  I don't have to really question whether or not I'm truly helping (like I do when donating a dollar to aid  earthquake victims in Japan).  I'm quite confident that this $5 does make a difference.

Day 121: 50 cents to Share the Bread

It's sort of a measly day for giving on my part.  I spent a significant amount of money on things for myself at the farmers market (bread, micro-greens, muffins, and veggies) but only managed to eek out 50 cents for the hungry as I stopped to get a coffee from Panera. Still, it's better than nothing.  I've been thinking about a passage from Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" lately.  The unnamed narrator is pondering his responsibility to fellow human beings, especially Bartleby.  He concludes that the bother of looking after Bartleby "will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience."  The nature and the paradox of charity.