Meryl Ann Butler recently wrote a great article for OpEdNews about a school with an innovative project: “The kids, staff and parents at the very green, Salem, Massachusetts, Greenhouse School have been quietly plugging away, turning recycled waste paper into beautiful handmade items: cards, bookmarks, invitations, gift tags, journals, ornaments, and decorative wrappers for the school’s aromatic handmade soaps. Part science project, part recycling, part fundraising, the idea bloomed more than a decade ago. Grinding up old paper to repurpose into beautiful new cards is just one of the many ways this school turns trash into treasure.”
The school website says: “We always have more ideas than money, so please check us out and pass on to friends who might be interested in either buying our Trash-to-Treasure products or supporting our other initiatives, from a school bus to run on waste vegetable oil to a solar school initiative.”
There are so many truly worthy projects out there; this is a tiny sampling. Try applying this approach to your gift list – donations mixed with mindful consuming. Everyone will benefit from your thoughtfulness. You may never go back to your old gift-shopping methods again!
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Other articles from this series on unconventional gift-giving:
Heifer International: A Different Approach to Gift-Giving
How We Give Thanks
Katrina on my Mind: Debra South Jones with Just the Right Attitude
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