By Dave DeLuca
Not to worry, Corvallis. We have some excellent local alternatives to the big, green Gaia Movement bins.
Vina Moses Center: This non-profit organization has a small store with clothes, school supplies, and simple household items. They open their doors to Benton County families in need as well as run special programs throughout the year. Donations of clothes and some household goods are accepted at 968 NW Garfield Street on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Whatever Vina Moses cannot use goes into a long trailer picked up by St. Vincent’s De Paul of Lane County.
ARC of Benton County: There are two local drop-off locations for ARC. One is in Philomath and the other is at the thrift store at 928 NW Beca Avenue in Corvallis. Profits benefit individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Anything they can’t sell gets passed along to Vina Moses.
Heartland Humane Society Thrift Store: Formerly known as Cat’s Meow, this shop is located downtown at 411 SW 3rd Street. They will gladly accept your donations of clothing, books, animal-related items, or whatever. Their profits go directly to help care for the animals at the Heartland animal shelter across the river in south town. Any clothes they cannot sell go to Vina Moses.
Consignment Shops: Just because you’re tired of an outfit doesn’t mean it’s garbage. You can make a few bucks on your old clothes at any one of the shops downtown. Several of these shops donate what they cannot sell to Vina Moses. These include Second Glance, The Alley, The Annex, Round-About Boutique, and Mother Goose Resale.
St. Vincent De Paul: St. Vinnie’s is a charity with a mission of assisting the poor with affordable housing and emergency services. Their local store is located in Albany at 2220 Pacific Boulevard SE. Anything that cannot be sold at the Albany store is hauled off to Eugene and combined with the contents of a trailer which comes from Vina Moses Center here in Corvallis. Donations are sorted into items that can be reused, remanufactured, recycled as materials, or thrown away. The great thing about St. Vincent De Paul is they keep about 93 to 95% of donations out of the waste stream. If you’re not sure if something should be donated or thrown out, go to www.svdp.us or email askme@svdp.us.
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