Your Garbage – Someone else’s Treasure/Helping Others!

gift-boxesMy friend calls it ‘dumpster diving’, but in being a Brit, I would rather call it ‘finding a treasure’. However, the fact remains that so many wonderful, expensive, GREAT items are put by the wayside for garbage pick-up, when so many people would be THRILLED to receive any one of them.

I was driving around Bedford last year previewing a home and I noticed two wonderful bar stools by the roadside. Oh my goodness! They were Western in design, and I have a fondness for the South West ! They fit nice and snug into my car, and all I had to do was to recover the seats. Perfect! My friend has a young grand daughter, and another on the way, and so if I see a great toy here or there,  I appropriate same! I have delivered to her a beautiful rocking horse, a tricycle,  a Barbi doll house (valued at a few hundred dollars),  and walkers, etc… However, if I hadn’t seen those items, would they have reached the garbage dump and languished there?

What else can someone do?

New Beginnings.  Help some Westchester homeless families. 165 Main St. Ossining Open Door. 914-923-4889 (voicemail). Donation hours Mondays 9:30-12:00. Items accepted: kitchen items, small houshold good, household linens, baby linens, children’s clothing up to size 10, children’s books. New Beginnings is a non-profit organization that provides basic household essentials to homeless families and individuals making the transition to permanent housing.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Westchester. Pick-Up Available. Call 1-877-399-2570. Will accept clothing, some household items, some small electronics. Consult website for list: www.bbbsdonate.org. I can recall donating my time to this worthy organization  many, many  years ago..

Furniture Sharehouse.  ” Furniture Sharehouse, a not-for-profit organization, provides these individuals and families with the basic household furnishings they need free of charge, enabling them to rebuild their lives with dignity” . Accepts furniture in good repair for families in Westchester County who have need. Will accept sofas (no more than 80” long), armchairs, mattresses (no stains), kitchen/dining room tables, dressers, bookshelves, lamps, small electric appliances, mirrors, televisions (no more than 5 yrs old), clean area rugs. Furniture pick-up available for 3 large items and a suggested $50 donation. Drop-off locations include the Warehouse at Westchester County Airport. Call for hours: 914-834-1294 or email at info@furnituresharehouse.org. Website: furnituresharehouse.org.

The Sharing Shelf, 47 Purdy Avenue, Port Chester. Run by Family Services of Westchester. Distributes children’s clothing to those in need.

“The Sharing Shelf was founded to meet this need. We collect and distribute new and gently used clothing in sizes from newborn through XXL, for children and teens from infancy through age 19. Volunteers meet in our Port Chester warehouse where donations are screened then sorted them by size, season and gender. Social workers, therapists, teachers, attorneys and others working with low-income families in our community submit requests for their clients. Our volunteers then create packages filled with a week’s worth of seasonally appropriate clothing matched into outfits according to a child’s sizing needs.

We also seek donations of other basic supplies including gently worn or new shoes, strollers, pack-n-plays and new school supplies (see our “Backpacks to School” program)”

Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity operates two local re-stores. Donate working house parts to locations in New Rochelle or Mount Vernon. Pick-up service can sometimes be arranged. Fax a photograph of your items with your contact information to (914) 636-8592 in New Rochelle (telephone number (914) 636-8335). Store is located 524 Main St. New Rochelle. Mount Vernon store is at 2 Cortlandt St. Telephone: (914) 699-2791. Email a photograph of your item to restorewestchester@gmail.com to see if you can arrange a pick-up. Used household items are also for sale at these two locations. You can also donate your car to Habitat for Humanity. Call (800) 237-4344 to arrange a pick up. HFH works with a third party to sell cars; proceeds are used by the charity. A tax deduction receipt will be available based on the sale price for the car.

Another way to help – make a donation –

Lifting Up Westchester – helping our neighbors in need

The United Way

The Hope Community Services – so many hungry people in every community…

Your local Religious organizations… churches, synagogues, mosques… call and I am sure they would welcome donations also..

Westchester is GREAT!

About Gay E. Rosen

Gay E. Rosen is a Top Realtor in the Larchmont and New Rochelle (Lower Westchester) area. She is diligent, caring, driven and thorough (with a sense of humor).Utilize her expertise. Call her!
This entry was posted in New Rochelle Area Information and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply