Charity begins at home

No one likes to throw away items in good condition. But when they have outlived their usefulness to you, it can be difficult to think of a new home for them. In this situation, One Stop Drop Donation has the answer.

The northeastern Pennsylvania nonprofit organization, One Stop Drop Donation, will be collecting slightly used items that are in working condition April 17 at Clarks Summit United Methodist Church, The University of Scranton and the Share Fair at the Kingston Armory.

This will be the second year the group will host the event, where they will collect everything from clothing, medical supplies, athletic equipment and more. Then they will sort the materials and distribute them to the corresponding charities.

“I was reading ‘Women’s Day’ magazine and they had a little article in there that said if you have a cell phone, send it here. If you have a bicycle, send it here. And I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you could just bring everything to one place at one time and get it to where it needs to go?’” said founder Nancy Sarno de los Rios, Dalton.

The community agreed, and came out in droves in 2009, filling an estimated 11 vans worth of items.

“I think everybody hates the idea of leaving a bicycle at the side of the road for garbage pickup, but (people) don’t know where to send or take everything,” said Sarno de los Rios. “The effort to drive one item someplace or ship one item someplace, it becomes costly, so I think it filled a need. And when they found out most of the merchandise was staying local, they were really happy about that.”

“There’s been so much misinformation with the (charities), where you think you donated something to be used by someone when actually it’s being resold for pennies on the dollar. And I’m certain that serves a purpose, but it’s not always what people intended the use of it to be.”

Once the items are collected at the event, they have to be distributed to the charities that day. This quick turnaround requires a team of dedicated volunteers and Sarno de los Rios said she has been lucky to find a number of people eager to help.

Last year, 1-800-GOT-JUNK donated vans to transport all the materials collected, and student volunteers donated their time to help sort through the materials.

This year, 1-800-GOT-JUNK will be back, Penn State Worthington Scranton alumni association is volunteering, as well as the National Honor Society and student council of Abington Heights High School. P.O.D.S is providing a POD on site that will store the overflow of items for easy access by the charities.

Leadership Lackawanna class of 2010, a group of emerging leaders participating in a program run by the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, is helping the event grow by taking charge of the event at The University of Scranton. And, Leadership Wilkes- Barre is doing a component of the event at their Share Fair at the Kingston Armory.

“I have a good team,” said Sarno de los Rios. “I’m still looking for more volunteers. If any volunteers, organizations or groups are interested, we will be needing people to help out that day.”

The events will take place Saturday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The program requests $5 per car load donation or a canned food donation for a local food pantry.

The first 50 donors will receive an Arbor Day tree. In addition, Shred Doc will be at The University of Scranton providing free document shredding service and anyone who makes a donation in Clarks Summit will be provided a voucher to take their shreddables to The University. The Nittany Lion will be in attendance and ready for photo opportunities.