At some point, most of us have probably given away things we didn’t need to friends or family members. But what should you do when you don’t know anyone who wants the leftover dirt from your gardening project or your old lawnmower? One solution is to check out The Freecycle Network, an organization that encourages people to participate in a culture of giving.
Freecycle, a website founded in May of 2003 by Deron Beal of Tucson, Ariz., began when Beal wanted to donate a bed, but couldn’t find any local organizations willing to accept one. Beal wanted to create a way for people to give away items that still had value, but that might otherwise end up in a landfill. To solve the problem, Beal got together a small group of friends interested in sharing the things they no longer needed, and that initial group has grown into a project that boasts 9 million members in more than 110 countries.
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