Give and Take
I turned my Dad onto Freecycle a couple of years ago. Though I have slacked off on checking for new messages over the past year or so, it appears Dad is still in full swing., He and his wife keep the PC in their office up all day with a window open for the Yahoo e-mail address they use exclusively for Freecycle. They check for new messages often.
I’m proud of him, though. Instead of just looking for what kinds of things he can acquire, he reads each and every Wanted message to see if there is something he has that someone else wants. It looks like he gives away more than he asks for. THAT is your ideal Freecycle member.
I have taken to sitting down and checking the messages while I am here. I have seen posts offering used cisco, boxes of books, yard equipment, and clothing. I replied to a woman who lives right down the road and was offering a paper sack full of old Scrabble tiles, but I have not heard back. I assume someone else asked first. Those tiles would have been an invaluable tool for teaching reading in the classroom.
…man. Now I am thinking about the classroom and the hiring freezing going on in the counties around me and the fact that I need to find a job this summer. Way to put a damper on my own vacation. *sigh*
I like the concept of Freecycle, but I’ve given up trying to offer things up. People don’t follow through! I’ve tried asking people to let me know in their initial email when they can come pick up, but 90% of the time, they don’t show. Often they have good reasons and I feel badly for being upset (how can you argue with the sick child excuse?), but if you tell me you’re going to come by at a specific time to get something from me for free and you can’t, at least email me and let me know. Don’t just leave me hanging for two days, wondering what happened to you. So I’ve decided I’m just going to take items we don’t need anymore straight to the thrift store.
I wish I were more like your father, though, helping people with their wanted posts. He is what the system is all about.