Yesterday my good friends Eric Cressey, John Romaniello, and Ben Bruno revealed to the world an awesome charity that they’ve recently collaborated on along with the good people over at Causes International.
For those unfamiliar, Causes International is an organization which focuses on UPcycling, the process of donating your used electronics so they can be sent back UP the chain, and either disposed of in an environmentally clean and sustainable way – or given to those in need.
Put another way, you know that first edition Nintendo Entertainment System that you’ve insisted on keeping in your closet since you were 17 for sentimental reasons but now your girlfriend or significant other is forcing you to throw away to make room for her rabid collection of shoes, or that rubbish iPhone 4 you were just going to casually toss in the dumpster because it’s so 2012 and you wouldn’t be caught dead with such outdated technology in your pocket?
Well, as it happens, it’s not that great for the environment to just throw stuff (laptops, smart phones, desk top computers, etc) away. As EC pointed out in his blog yesterday:
Electronics that aren’t disposed of properly often wind up releasing extremely toxic heavy metals—such as lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and deadly toxins like polyvinyl chlorides—directly into the environment. We may not notice it yet in the US, as over 80% of our “electronic trash” is sent overseas, but there are parts of China and other industrialized countries where people can’t breath the air or drink the water, and children are dying or being born with defects because of these toxins.
With that said, I want you to think long and hard before you haul that flat screen tv out to the curb and then move on with your life. Essentially what you’re doing is punching a dolphin in the face. You jerk!
I didn’t know this, but over 100 million (yes million) smartphones are thrown in the trash worldwide each and every year. Likewise, according to some other statistics, in America alone, over 12 million laptops were discarded of inappropriately in 2007.
And I have to imagine that number is even larger today.
Looking at those numbers it’s astonishing how wasteful we are as a society and what a haphazard attitude we have when it comes to taking care of our environment.
This is why this is such an awesome endeavor.
To up the ante, Causes International has teamed with Eric, John, and Ben to help raise money to feed the hungry.
It’s simple: you rummage through your house and find any electrical device that’s broken or you no longer use, you then donate it, and for every $1 raised EIGHT meals can be provided to those in need.
It’s a win-win. Not only do you do your part in helping save the environment, but you also help place food on the table for those in need.
Here’s the step-by-step breakdown:
Step One
Scour your house, condo, apartment, tree fort (nothing is off limits) and find any electrical device that’s broken or you don’t use. Over 60,000 items, in 13 different categories – iPhones, iPods, iPads, and MacBooks (even with shattered screens), plus various other items, like other smartphones, video games, graphing calculators, or digital cameras – are eligible.
Unfortunately, can openers and Shake Weights aren’t included in the mix.
Step Two
Go to the website that Causes International set up at www.FitnessFeeds.org and click on the DONATE button. There’s really very little heavy lifting that has to be done on your part. Causes International will send you a PRE-PAID shipping label that you can print off, and then all you have to do is high-five the UPS guy or place into one of their 40,000+ boxes around the country.
Step Three
You just earned MASSIVE karma points my friend. As noted above, every $1 raised helps provide EIGHT meals to needy people. And, if it’s important to you, the whole thing is tax deductible.
Step Four
If or when you visit Cressey Performance, you and I are totally going to hug it out.
