The Green Frugal

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Cash4Books Employees Volunteer Event with The Tualatin Riverkeepers

On Saturday, September 23 more than 20 Cash4Books employees, friends and family members helped the Tualatin Rivekeepers clean the waters and banks of the Tualatin River. This was our second year participating in a cleanup event on the Tualatin and we were more than happy to help out again this year!

Although the day started out foggy and overcast, the instant we hit the water the clouds parted and the sun shone down upon us. Which was a very good thing, as the large amount of rain we received this year made the water of the Tualatin the color of dark chocolate milk. Without that sun illuminating the murky depths of the river we never would have seen the shopping carts, lounge chairs, couches, the back seat of a car, a teddy bear, an exercise ball, a sawhorse, etc.

As you can see from this photo, there was plenty for us to do. And this is only from about a mile stretch of a river that runs 83 miles!

We want to thank The Tualtin Riverkeepers for their efforts in keeping the river clean and usable for all forms of life (including humans!). We are happy to support them, and if you live in the area we highly recommend you head over to their website to check out and support their current projects.  If you don’t live near the Tualatin, there’s no need to feel left out; there is probably a river near you that needs help too!

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As we mentioned in a previous post, Cash4Books employees recently participated in a clean-up of Cathedral Park in Portland, Oregon. You may be asking “Why is it called Cathedral Park?” Glad you asked….

The view of the underbelly of the St. Johns Bridge as seen from Cathedral Park. Photo credit: Joan Stevens

The original plan was to clean up the riverbank running on the west-side of the park.  However, thanks to the wettest spring on record in Portland, there was no riverbank.

Something's not right here. Photo: Joan Stevens

Fortunately, not all of the park’s residents were upset with this situation:

"Quack, quack" Photo: Joan Stevens.

So instead of cleaning the riverbank, we headed over to the nearby Baltimore Woods restoration project. We spent several hours cleaning trash and debris from the area. Despite occasional scrapes with blackberry bushes and shrubs we had a great time clearing the area and we were glad to be able to help! Our haul (see below) included a tire, shopping carts, about a dozen articles of clothing, a shovel and for some reason a “for sale” real estate sign.

The Clean-Up Crew! Photo Paul Schertz

A big thanks to SOLV for coordinating this event, as well as many other volunteer events in Oregon. If your’re in Oregon, check out solv.org for more about the organization and for information about other volunteer opportunities. For those living outside of Oregon, visit volunteermatch.org.

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UPDATE: Congratulations to our DonorsChoose gift card winner, Andrea Lisa Lopes!

And thank you to all who shared their volunteer experiences and ideas. It is great to hear that so many of our readers are involved in helping out their communities. It is truly inspiring!

This coming Sunday, the team here at Cash4Books.net is going to a volunteer event where we will help to clean up Cathedral Park in Portland, OR. Stay tuned for more details about our experience!

We can't wait to help clean-up beautiful Cathedral Park! Photo Credit: iadk, Flicker

This got me thinking about the many benefits of summer volunteer events. You can get your whole family outside and actually enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. Additionally, if you pick the right volunteer event you can actually get yourself and your family some decent exercise. I know I was pretty sore after one of our previous volunteer events. Finally and perhaps most importantly, you are able to give back to the community!

We’d like to hear from you about summer volunteer event ideas that are great for the whole family. Or let us know about a previous volunteer event that you enjoyed. We’ll pick our favorite and the winner will get a $100 Donors Choose gift card!

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Two shirts, a pair of pants, pajamas, boots and a warm jacket. Cash4Books employees dedicated their Wednesday evening to Northwest Children’s Outreach, packing care bags teeming with items like those above for children in Portland and the surrounding communities. Each Cash4Books employee had the pleasure of sifting through donated clothing items, to choose outfits for girls and boys. Each child was also gifted with several books and toys. It was particularly fun to reminisce over titles and games of our pasts.

Theresa, our Accounts Payable Specialist, has been volunteering with the Northwest Children’s Outreach over the past year, and brought this wonderful organization to the attention of Cash4Books employees. “I initially volunteered at NW Children’s Outreach to expose my children to doing something for others,” said Theresa of her initial involvement with the organization. “I was shocked to learn how dire the need was for so many children locally, and how my efforts made a direct impact. The organization is 100% volunteer run and all donations go directly to the children.  What a great idea!!”

Northwest Children’s Outreach works with local care providers who identify, meet directly with, and prescreen children in need. Arrangements are then made to acquire supplies through purchase and donations, which are sorted and packed by volunteers weekly.

“The other day I was lucky enough to get a child whose birthday was coming up.  They save the nicest donations for birthday gifts.  Knowing I was preparing a gift for a child that probably wasn’t getting anything else was incredibly rewarding.  This organization is doing so much for those most vulnerable, and I’m so happy to do my part,” recounts Theresa.

As part of their mission, Northwest Children’s Outreach “stands in the gap” between poverty and caring agencies with resources to help children and the needs of their families. Serving children from infants through teenagers, they are always looking for donations of the following items:

• Diapers
• Formula
• New or gently-used clothing (newborns to teens)
• Hygiene Products for Infants, Children and New Moms
• Feeding Products for Infants and Children (bowls, bottles, cups, eating utensils, bibs, etc.)
• Nursery Items (blankets, new cribs, crib sheets, changing pads, changing tables, infant towels, nursery furniture)
• Children’s Safety Products (new car seats, household safety products, childproofing equipment, etc.)
• Gift cards to grocery stores and/or stores with children’s products
• Toys and Books

For more information on the Northwest Children’s Outreach, its mission, or how to get involved, please visit their website at: http://www.northwestchildrensoutreach.org

Volunteer Match is a great resource to find charities and organizations that serve children in your area!

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It has been nearly a year since the Cash4Books Sustainability Committee was formed, and our first year has been a great success. The committee is composed of five employees coming from several different departments throughout the company. While we have a wide range of perspectives and areas of focus on the committee, our main mission is to is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable practices at work.

There were several highlights for us in 2010. As a company, we logged over 110 hours of volunteer community outreach! We volunteered with the Children’s Book Bank, Tualatin Riverkeepers and the Oregon Food Bank. We were also happy to provide year-end donations to these organizations as a way of saying thanks for their hard work and dedication to their causes.

In July, we participated as a company in the Carefree Commuter Challenge. The CCC is a friendly competition between companies and organizations in the Portland, Oregon, metro region to see who has the most sustainable commuting habits. Over the course of the month we logged over 1,600 miles using sustainable transportation (defined as public transportation, carpooling, walking and biking). This saved over 65 gallons of gasoline, and prevented the release of 1,300 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Enhancing our recycling program and reducing waste was another area of emphasis for us. We improved the recycling area in our employee break room, and installed a peg board to eliminate the use of disposable cups. We expanded our recycling list to include items like CDs and batteries.  Additionally, we continued to reuse and recycle the boxes and packing materials that we receive from our customers who send us their books. Over the course of the year, we recycled 40 tons of material that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.

To finish off the year, we installed lighting occupancy sensors in the employee break room and shipping area of our warehouse. These sensors are anticipated to result in a 5% reduction of our annual electricity consumption. Plus, its really cool to have the lights turn on automatically when you walk by the sensors.