Donating Unwanted Fur: One Way to Give In 2010

Women around the world inherit items from loved ones that they do not want or need.  Many of these items include fur coats and stoles.  Rather than toss these articles out, opt instead to make a tax-deductible donation to PETA. 

In addition to using them in their educational programs and displays, PETA also gives them to impoverished people in bitterly cold climates like Afghanistan.  The coats are then cut into blanket sized pieces and given to refugees who put the fur to good use.

Clean out your closet and send the contents along with your name, address, and an appraisal if you have one to:

PETA Development Department

501 Front Street

Norfolk, Virginia 23510

To learn more about the program and the people of Afghanistan visit PETA's campaign, Fur is Dead.

In addition to helping people, fur coats are actually used in shelters and zoos to keep their animals warm.  The Humane Society of the United States runs a Coats for Cubs Program.  Wildlife rehabilitators use the coats and stoles with their animal patients.  Raccoons, rabbits, foxes, squirrels, and bobcats respond better to treatment when snuggled up to a fur blanket.  It reminds them of the comfort they received when being nurtured by their mothers.

There is no need to waste a thing in today's society.  Do a web search and find the type of organization that accepts the types of items that you want to give away.  In addition to receiving a tax deduction, you also get to help people and animals in need.  In my opinion, there is no better gift to give than a gift from the heart. 

You don't have to be financially privileged to make a charitable donation.  In fact, Nicole Bochard Boles' book, How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist: 330 Ways to Make a Difference In Your Home, Community, and World At No Cost provides numerous pages on ways that you can help the animals in your community with your time and unwanted belongings.  In fact, page 67 of the book mentions the Cage Comforter Program which accepts donations of handmade comforters that are in return used to replace the newspaper that lines cages in animal shelters.  A small way to help traumatized animals adjust better to their conditions, the program's website has instructions on how to start your own group in the city that you live in.

Clean out your closet and take pride in knowing that something that is no longer useful to you is extremely valuable to someone else.  In the spirit of the new year, make 2010 one that you are proud of.  Make giving a part of every facet of your life and see how different your life becomes.  "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."