Another busy week of saving the planet

A lot has happened since the last blog post.  All indications are that people are thinking about Donation Station when they have scrap metal that they do not want to throw in their curbside bin and would like to donate to a worthy cause.  Water heaters, die frames, kitchen ranges, futon frames, aluminum cans and cell phones were donated by friends at work, friends from church, business partners and groups that I fund raise for that are doing good work of their own in our community.

I look forward to the calls that come in during the day asking me to stop by to pick up a collection of "whatever" the  caller has decided to divert, donate and reduce their carbon footprint all at the same time.  In a couple of weeks, schools will be back in session and a portion of the calls will be for the free paper that I get from a local printer and donate to schools, day cares and churches.  For the first time this summer, I stockpiled about 150 rolls, not certain how bright of an idea that would be, but it turns out, that new "takers" came along and after 75 rolls to one person, 45 rolls to Habitat Restore and another 4 dozen rolls to our downtown library, the garage is cleared and the decision payed off.

If you are so inclined, please pray for me.  For guidance, perseverance, strength, courage and humility.  So much more can be done to help bring hope and faith to those in need of a guiding light, and I could use your prayers to help find those individuals and groups that could benefit from what Donation Station is doing with the treasures and gifts that I receive from the Michiana community.

The Donation Station bills get paid by scrap metal recycling proceeds, so keep me in mind the next time you have an appliance, automobile, lawn and garden equipment or just a bag of aluminum cans that you would like to donate.  For things like automobiles, trailers, farm equipment, commercial stamping or cutoffs; it is possible for me to provide you with a "gift in kind" letter for your donation that can be used as a write off on your itemized tax return.   Your large scrap metal items would still be turned into cash, but the proceeds would be donated to a non profit organization like a food panty or homeless center - who will in turn provide you with the letter.

I will leave you with this note.  Give this some thought.  I saw a bumper sticker this week that read "Live Simply, so that someone can Simply Live".  Let me know if that strikes a nerve in you like it did me.

Please post this on your blog or facebook page.  If you are looking for a guest speaker at your next meeting, I am interested in talking to you.

Larry

turning metal into meals

Back in 2006 when I did my first recycling job (1200 lbs of lead) and donated the proceeds to a local youth group that was headed out on a musical mission tour, it was not clear to me where all of the metal was going to come from or just how much time, energy and equipment it would require to continue "scrapping". Five years later, most of the questions have been answered and the number of customers is growing (over 200 and counting). I have a core group of customers, some of them businesses and the rest individuals. Both groups are important to maintaining the 40 tons that I have been averaging over the past couple of years.

Recycling 40 tons of metal and 3,000 rolls of paper takes about 15 hours a week and allows me to help feed 40 families a warm Thanksgiving meal and clothe nearly 100 children, along with providing reduce, reuse and recycling field trips to another 100 students a year.

There is only one problem. I don't feel like I am making enough of a difference, considering how much time I spend working with the homeless population and the how much poverty the current economy is creating. I am checking out all of the modern networking opportunities to see if there are like minded individuals and businesses out there that I have not met in the first five years of scrapping that would like to donate anything metal.

I have the equipment to move any item regardless of the size or weight. Vehicles are by far the best revenue producing item, but aluminum cans pay exceptionally well also. Copper and brass are great revenue producers, but I have never turned down a coffee can full of nails either.

If you live in St. Joe, Elkhart or LaPorte County Indiana or Southwest Michigan and would like to add your name to the growing list of businesses and individuals who are helping me feed, clothe and educate children and families in Michiana - I am excited to hear from you.

Larry