For over two decades, Freecycle has been a nationally-recognized, volunteer-run nonprofit that keeps “good stuff” out of landfills. Since partnering with Publift and Google, Freecycle has been able to generate income from their site — and keep their mission alive in the process.
A great message including an interview with Deron
https://cloud.storer.com.au/index.php/s/XYkCPb8Xbst2qsX
In a world increasingly burdened by waste, The Freecycle Network® stands out as a beacon of environmental stewardship and community spirit. With over 5,000 local groups and more than 11 million members globally, this grassroots nonprofit is revolutionising the way we think about giving and receiving.
Founded on May 1, 2003, by Deron Beal, Freecycle started as an innovative solution to a common problem. While working for RISE, a Tucson-based nonprofit providing recycling services and transitional employment, Beal noticed that many perfectly usable items were being discarded. Determined to find a more efficient way to repurpose these goods, he created an email group for Tucson residents, allowing them to offer and request items freely. This simple yet powerful idea quickly gained traction, evolving into a global movement.
https://www.globalsociety.earth/post/freecycle-transforming-trash-into-treasure
“As the executive director of a small charity (with extremely limited staffing) but with a huge global mission, it was critical that we find a partner that was able to provide us with latchkey services that would just work and would provide the critical additional ad income for our global mission of keeping good stuff out of landfills via online and globally local gifting. Publift has delivered in spades on all counts. We highly recommend them.”
Deron Beal, Founder | United States
The Freecycle Network® is a global movement that believes in the power of sharing, recycling, and building a community.
Founded in 2003, it has grown into a vast network with millions of members in over 5000 volunteer-run local groups worldwide. The website provides a platform where individuals can give away items they no longer need or find treasures they seek, all for free. It is a grassroots, non-profit organisation that focuses on reducing waste, promoting reuse, and creating a strong sense of community.
https://www.spottedinely.com/join-the-ely-freecycle-community/
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.
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:
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!
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release – 1 May, 2023
Global Gifting Movement Celebrates 20 Years: The Freecycle Network
June 1st, 2023, Tucson, Arizona – The 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!
~changing the world one gift at a time~
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.
“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.
