Post by Category : Big Time News

GV Pennysaver.com: Behind the Scenes at Rochester Freecycle

Say you have an item you no longer want, but it’s too good to toss out. Garage sale? Way too busy. Donate it to a charitable group? Set it at the end of the driveway with a big sign that says FREE? Or give it away on the Freecycle Network.

https://www.gvpennysaver.com/my_hometown/hometown_stories/informational/behind-the-scenes-at-rochester-freecycle/article_d9ab6e40-2c78-11ee-9a65-e396fc586748.html

Happy Anniversary Freecycle

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release – 1 May, 2023

Global Gifting Movement Celebrates 20 Years: The Freecycle Network

June 1st, 2023, Tucson, ArizonaThe Freecycle Network has been fanning the flames of the grassroots wildfire in communities everywhere as the largest recycling and re-use web community on the planet. And, now Freecycle is celebrating its 20th anniversary with nearly 11 million members in over a hundred countries. It’s these community members who are gifting tens of thousands of items every day on Freecycle.org. Freecycle –a globally local gifting community, or, as some say, a cyber curbside– is now enabling over a thousand tons a day to be kept out of landfills as a result. That means one less landfill on the planet and lots of happy recipients on a globally local basis.

Background: Our nearly 11 million members are doing this gifting each within their own local community in one of more than 5,000 local groups in more than 100 countries. This translates into fifteen times the height of Mt. Everest when stacked in garbage trucks over the past year alone – that’s over 807 million pounds of used items.

No one could have imagined that what began as a small circle of friends on May 1, 2003, would have evolved into the Freecycle of today. It was then that Deron Beal had a bed that he wished to recycle but discovered that the local thrift shops did not accept beds. In an effort to protect our planet and recycle a perfectly usable bed, he started a network of friends online and offered the bed. What began as only 30 members in 2003 has now developed into a global re-use movement.

What people often don’t realize is that thrift stores such as Goodwill have to dispose of over two-thirds of all donations given to them as they are unable to re-sell them. Freecycle fills that gap between items which may no longer have monetary value but are still perfectly usable and functional. If we can empower local individuals to gift then we are reducing waste and keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Thankfully, Freecycle is fueled by thousands of volunteers who devote their time and energy to this worthy cause in their respective local communities. If people weren’t basically good and giving, Freecycle would not work. But it does indeed, and on a massive scale. Freecycle creates a circle of giving in each of its local communities around the world. Working together, we can keep it green.

Lending credence to their motto of “changing the world one gift at time,” Freecycle is globally local — Each town has volunteer moderators and a unique Town group. Anyone living in that town is then welcome to post items to be given away or to seek items which they might be able to use. Whether it is an old door, a pile of dirt or a computer, it’s probably being given away on one of the local groups already up and running as you read this article.

The Freecycle Network is a private, nonprofit organization based out of Tucson, Arizona. Visit https://freecycle.org to find your local Town group. This nonprofit gifting movement enables individuals to gift items in their local communities rather than to throw them away. Freecycle has been featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and in People Magazine amongst many others in many countries of the world.

Liberate a closet near you, and keep usable items out of the landfill in the process!

https://freecycle.org

~changing the world one gift at a time~

Freecycle Low-Risk Data Breach

A data breach on our site temporarily left members’ email addresses exposed. Fortunately passwords were not exposed, no other personal information was compromised and the breach has been closed (3/23) and reported to the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

What this means for you: While most email providers do a good job at filtering out spam, you may notice an uptick. As always, please remain vigilant of phishing emails, avoid clicking on links in emails, and don’t download attachments unless you are expecting them. 

Here are some useful links to help keep you safe:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/ Find out what past data breaches have involved your personal information. 

https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams#report Learn how to recognize phishing emails

Finally, we want to emphasize that passwords were not exposed in this breach. While you don’t need to change your password at this time, it’s a good idea to regularly update your passwords.

I apologize for this breach personally. Please know that we have extensive firewalls and security measures in place to protect Freecycle.org and its members and that this low-risk breach was our first in nearly 20 years. Know that the breach has been fixed and the private data potentially accessible was limited solely to the email addresses themselves. 

-Deron Beal, Executive Director, The Freecycle Network

If you have further questions, you may visit this page: https://freecycle.helpscoutdocs.com/article/312-data-breach

Or, reach out to us at privacy@freecycle.org.

Twitter: GoodMorningAmerica

“Free cycle” and “buy nothing” groups are gaining popularity online and through new apps as consumers find new ways to save money on everyday items amid rising inflation.

GoodMorningAmerica: Inside the ‘buying nothing’ movement

Free cycle and buy nothing groups are gaining popularity online and through new apps as consumers find new ways to save money on everyday items as inflation soars.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/video/inside-buy-movement-98145028

AVOIDING SCAMS ON FREECYCLE

Don’t be a victim. Never pay for delivery of a Freecycle item.

The incidence of scams is on the increase, on Freecycle and elsewhere. Here’s how you can identify a likely scam:

  • The offering member claims to have recently moved or posted to the wrong Town group and they need money to send the item to you.
  • The post contains a photo of an email address.
  • The subject of the post uses unusual punctuation or odd symbols, such as ~.ṀusicaĮ Įnstruments~
  • The offer seems too good to be true, especially if the member has recently joined Freecycle or posted the item to multiple towns that aren’t near each other. 

Any time you find a suspicious post, or are asked to pay for an item or delivery of an item, please use the “Report” button on the post detail page, or send a message to your town moderators. Please don’t become a victim of another delivery scam!

Thanks for helping keep scammers out of Freecycle!

HarperJames.co.uk: Meet the client: Deron Beal, Founder of The Freecycle Network

Our popular Meet the client series reveals the inside story on the organisations we support with legal services. This time, we caught up with Deron Beal, Founder and Executive Director of The Freecycle Network. He shares his inspirational story of building the largest nonprofit international gifting community and keeping over a thousand tons out of landfills and incinerators each day.

https://harperjames.co.uk/news/meet-the-client-deron-beal-the-freecycle-network/

BBC.co.uk: The people fighting price rises by trying to buy nothing

At Freecycle, a similar site where participants typically offer up some 20,000 items each day, the number of posts each day has increased by about 15% in recent months, driven by the financial concerns, founder, Deron Beal says.

“People, understandably, they’re buying petrol or going to the store and seeing high prices…seek to pinch their pennies a little bit and Freecycle… is a good alternative,” he says.

Even families with higher incomes, who might ordinarily be insulated from the pressures, are reconsidering their ordinary spending, says Tania Brown, a financial planner based in Georgia, with more than 20 years’ experience.

“There is an across-the-board sense of worry about inflation: ‘How long is this going to last, how this is going to impact their daily life’,” she says. “I am definitely hearing differences and changes.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60237929

Deron’s Forum Presentation

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XztOsCVtKBJoRnkO_znCq3079t7NHa27/view

BBC Radio Kent: Interview with Deron

“Freecycle moderator Jakkie Durham and founder Deron Beal
are interviewed by Pat Marsh of BBC Kent. A recording of
just this segment may be found here. The full show of better
sound quality can be found here: (section starts at about 15.45pm)’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_kent