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| Give Till it Helps | | By Tracey Kennedy for Screenager Central |
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What happens when consumer spending and charitable giving meet? You get great goods -- fab sweaters, cool kicks, nifty gadgets -- and you do good at the same time for charitable organizations, and even your school! It's easy too. All you have to do is surf the sites we've found, shop until your cart is crammed full, and in some cases, select the organization that you want to receive the donation. It doesn't cost you one extra dime and you don't have to be Donald Trump to be able to afford these items although we bet you'll be feeling rich in spirit after your spree. |
You don't even have to leave your computer anymore to spread the Goodwill. Log onto shopgoodwill and find all of the donated treasures you could possibly want from Goodwill stores across the country. The store is set up like an online auction, similar to eBay. Whether it's s a plethora of PEZ dispensers, a R2D2 Star Wars flip watch, or a vintage leather jacket (a steal at $1.00 and no bids when we checked), you're sure to find it. Like the bricks and mortar stores, you have to search and search to unearth the real gems, but they are there. Prices also tend to run higher than the offline stores since many of the listings are for antiques, collectibles, or trendy items that can run up high bids. Registration is required to bid, but it's free.
And speaking of online bidding, did you know that you can eBay the charitable way? Type "charity" in "What are you looking for" and you'll get the items in categories (books, clothing, etc.). Or typed in "Search," you'll get pages worth (38, the day we tried) of all the charity items mish-mashed together. What great goods did we find? How about Goth lace beaded chokers? (A mere $5 bucks and 100% of the proceeds go to a Wildlife Rescue Center.) Or you could start that band with this deal -- a brand new Johnson Sunburst acoustic/electric guitar with no reserve and at $2.25 and only two days left, you might want to even give more because the sales of the guitar goes to help a foundation for the developmentally disabled.
How can a student be true to his/her school, show school spirit, and solicit dough for the band, drama club, or new gym without peddling chocolate bars or grapefruits? Easy. Log onto The Schoolpop Website. At School Pop, you can earn money for your school simply by shopping -- and for items that you want to buy. To get started, simply register for free, name your school as the recipient of the donation from your shopping sprees, and then shop online at great stores like Old Navy, Gap, and Target. Don't worry, it won't cost you any more; the retailers donate a percentage of the revenue from your purchase to your school or chosen charity. And it works too -- so far, over $200 million has been raised for over 60,000 schools and other nonprofits.
Perhaps the site where you can get the most shopping for charity choices is Greater Good. Enter Greater Good's shopping portal and you'll find one hundred online merchants (like Barnes & Noble, Dell, Adidas America) and 5,000 cause partners (Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Special Olympics, The Nature Conservancy) and 110,000 K-12 schools that can receive a donation -- up to 15% of your purchase -- from the retailer.
Greater Good also offers five good works site stores (hunger, breast cancer, rainforest, animal rescue, and child health) where your purchase directly benefits that cause. (You can look cool and show you care with a purple or black "Paws" link charm bracelet. It's only $12.95, free shipping, and this purchase provides 14 bowls of food for animals living in sanctuaries and shelters.) Even if you don't want to buy anything, be sure to visit the goodwill links at each good works site store -- one click (and no cash spent) and you can help preserve 11.4 square feet of endangered rain forest or feed the hungry with 1.1 cups of staple food.
Who says that money can't buy happiness? We think it can at least help a little when you shop these sites. You get great deals on fabulous finds, but better yet, you get to help improve the lives of others in the process. Who can argue with that?
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