Couponing for Charity Latest Contribution

It's been a long time since I posted about my charitable donations; so here goes. First of all, I will be changing things up a bit. I'm going to stop the tally of value of goods and money spent because it's so time consuming. You can rest assured that most things on my list are free or money makers. I also may not post every week. I'll post when I think the deals are worth getting.

I'm also changing how I will be giving out donations. I had been working with a few other friends and adding our haul for a different charity every three months. The interest has dwindled to primarily my stock pile. So I've decided to just get what deals work for me, add them to my stockpile (see pictured), and distribute the products to the organizations that mean the most to me throughout the year. Since deals are often seasonal, that allows me to better match a group's needs with deals I've gotten over a longer period of time and to give each charity a wider variety of freebies.

For instance, our church, the Church of the Good Samaritan, supports the Volunteer Ministry Center in downtown Knoxville through a mentor program and serving meals. This group works very hard to help transition people away from homelessness. A couple just achieved that and I wanted to help celebrate that accomplishment with a "stock your pantry" gift bag.

In a reusable shopping bag they can use to shop future deals I added:

• 2 bottles water
• 2 boxes pasta
• 5 soups / soup mixes
• 1 body wash / shampoo
• 1 hand soap
• 2 deodorants
• 1 pack of feminine needs
• 1 gum
• 2 packs of post-its
• 2 pens
• 4 toothpaste
• 2 toothbrushes
• 1 floss
• 1 razor
• 1 ibuprofin

Everything pictured was free or less than $.50 and the value is probably $50. I would love to inspire them to learn the couponing skills to do this themselves to help stretch their budget. At least they have a few items to get them started.

So in the future, I may not be chasing as many deals. Walgreen's will have to work harder to pull me into their store, and I'll probably be going to CVS just twice a month. A little here, a little there can go a long way. And when a group or individual needs something, I'll be ready!

Do you coupon for charity? Do you find my posts helpful?

Let the Donating Begin!

Note: My computer is doing funky things; sorry for the weird formatting: If you've been following my Couponing for Charity weekly posts, you know I've been gathering FREE deals (mainly hygiene products) to donate to deserving organizations. Our MOMS Club chapter has chosen four local organizations over the course of a year to be recipients of our crafty couponing skills. Every three months, a different one will benefit. I've felt a bit like a squirrel--hunting, gathering, and storing my precious finds--but it was finally time to relinquish my gems to our first deserving group: a non-profit, interfaith agency serving the poor and homeless of Knoxville called the Volunteer Ministry Center.

This from their website: "The Volunteer Ministry Center helps people find their way out of homelessness by offering “tough love” programs that work. It’s not enough to meet the basic needs of food and shelter. Real progress means that people face their problems and overcome them. It means that they set goals and achieve them – and in a timely manner. It means that they are held accountable. The work of The Volunteer Ministry Center has one purpose – to help our clients achieve housing and a higher level of self-sufficiency so that they are no longer homeless."

I actually got involved with the VMC through my church, The Church of the Good Samarita, an Episcopal church in the Cedar Bluff region.There's a group of 10-15 female parishioners who attend a monthly "ladies night in" at the VMC. It's a chance to share some life skills, but more importantly, an opportunity to build relationships with women struggling to overcome homelessness. They seek to give them a comfortable bridge to the community.

So when I began my Couponing for Charity mission, this group was the first to come to mind. I was excited that not only was this a chance to "give them fish" but to "teach them to fish." Over the weekend, I began pouring out some of the knowledge I'd gained the past nine months and tips for how to get the great deals at Walgreen's and CVS in a hand-out. I quickly filled 4 1/2 pages. Would they be overwhelmed? Will they be able to stockpile? Would they call me Crazy Coupon Lady when I walked out the door?

When I put all the goods I had in a box, along with several donations from another member of MOMS Club, I could barely carry the box. In total, we had at least $250 of products and we broke even with paying tax. Here's what we gave:

9 tubes toothpaste, 7 toothbrushes, 2 dental floss,

14 body wash, 7 shampoo, 2 conditioner,

1 hand soap, 2 dish soap,

9 deodorants,

9 feminine care,

1 sinus spray, 1 multi-purpose eye solution, 1 heat wrap, 2 lip balm, 1 barrette, 1 box of tissues, 1 box of vitamins, 2 boxes of cereal, 1 box of crackers

Seeing it all on a table was very gratifying. When I said I got it all for free, some women looked astonished and a bit wary, as if I were about to pull a rabbit out of hat. Surely it isn't possible to get all that for FREE in three months! What's the catch? was reading on some of their faces.

Unfortunately only 2 of the 11 expected VMC clients showed up. Periodically KARM (where many of them live temporarily) has a lock-down and they will not let you come back in after 6:30pm if you leave. So I think most of them were trapped. However, there were about 10 women from our church, and they were all eager to figure this out for themselves. Though some of them were new to using coupons and many had never shopped at drugstores with this strategy, they soaked in the knowledge. I think I inspired several of them to give it a try and begin bringing to the VMC each month some of the deals they pick up.

Probably the most important person I educated tonight was Lisa Wells, a caseworker who plans to work with their clients one-on-one to help them get these deals themselves. Since you can't use food stamps on hygiene or cleaning products, this is a huge way to stretch their dollars. The VMC also have three computers clients can use to print coupons and access the weekly blogs detailing the deals like Southern Savers, Coupon Katie, and Coupon Mommie. Finally I have to give a big thanks to the one who educated and inspired me to start this couponing mission for others: Gabrielle at Couponing in Critical Times.

Though I didn't get to see the excited expressions of the recipients, Lisa was thrilled to now have items that she can put in "welcome home baskets." Four of their clients signed leases this week, and she's giving them each a basket full of goodies to get them started. She expects any extra products will be quickly snatched up.

As I walked out the door and glanced back at the stockpile, it was a little hard to leave it behind. After all my hard work, I now start with a clean slate for the next organization. Will I be just as successful? What will the next box look like? One thing I do know: it sure feels good to give.

Couponing for Charity 6/27-7/3 & Update #15

Ok, savvy shoppers, here's this week's Couponing for Charity. I've been doing this for 3 1/2 months, and I've gathered over $200 of products while just about "making" enough to cover the tax. Another friend has given me at least $100 of similar goods to donate as well. I'll be taking my first batch of goods to the VMC in Knoxville. I'm going to speak to a group of ladies there about how they can do this themselves on Tuesday. I'll report back afterwards. Since I'm taking next week off from couponing, you're on your own. I'll catch you again the second week of July.

For a few freebies, head to Walgreen's. If you need cleaning supplies, go to CVS. I went to Walgreen's today because my printer was out of ink--tragic for a printing couponer like myself. Having no ink is paralyzing! I managed to use $16 in register rewards I had previously earned and $8 more I earned today while spending only $3.10 of my own money.

For all the Walgreen's match-ups, go here. Take note: Walgreen's is having a problem with the free socks deal. Since the RR is not printing at any locations, I opted to return them instead of sending in the rebate form. If you're new to couponing, skip the socks!

For simplicity's sake, I took out the socks purchase and return from my totals.

Transaction #1:

1 News Sentinel

1 Flexitol Blistop (on sale for $5; get $5RR)--I'm keeping this because my son keeps getting blisters

1 Blistex smoothie 3-pack (on sale for $3; get $3RR)

2 Raison Brans (on sale for $1.99 each)

1 Caramel (filler item: $.33)

--Used $1/2 Kellogg's printable

--Used $16RR from previous visits (2 $5RR, 3 $2RR)

Total Spent: $1.66

Total Saved: $27.98

RR for next time: $8

Transaction #2:

3 Raison Brans

1 Inkjet refill (normally $13)

4 Reach toothbrushes ($.99 with in-ad coupon)

1 Caramel

--Used $1.50/3 Kellogg's paper coupon

--Used 50% off ink jet refill coupon from the box of my last refill (making it $6.50; you could use the in-ad coupon that will take off $3 but this was the better deal for me.)

--Used 2 $2/2 Reach toothbrush printables

--Used in ad Reach coupon (1 coupon takes off $3.20 for 4)

--Used $8RR from previous transaction

Total Spent: $1.44

Total Saved: $30.99

A quick note about printer refills. This is new to me. I've always bought them new. The first one I got for just $1 on Earthday worked fine; so I decided to refill again. Not only is this MUCH cheaper ($13 regular compared to $40), but coupons will usually save you an additional $3 - $6.50 per cartridge. Make sure you bring an XL (which holds three times the ink) because the cost is the same.

For all the CVS match-ups go here. I didn't make it to CVS today, but I'll get there some time this week. Other than the picture movie DVD (which I can do myself), I didn't see any freebies. I also did not receive the $5 coupon she describes. You can get Little Swimmers for $4.49 and Kellogg's cereal for $1.50.

But probably the best deal is on cleaning supplies. You can get all sorts of cleaning supplies by S.C. Johnson for $2.50 each. When you buy 4 (ie: spend $10), you get $5ECB. Since I have 4 $1/1 coupons, that makes each one $.25 each. When I submit for the $5 rebate (must be purchased by 6/30 and postmarked by 7/15), that will be a $4 money maker. I haven't yet decided what if anything I'll be donating from there; so here are my totals thus far.

Total products to donate this week: Blistex 3 pack, 4 toothbrushes

Total value of these products: $11.15 (Non-sale prices were $3.99 for Blistex and $1.79 each for toothbrushes)

Total spent for these products: $0

Total products to donate to date: 6 tubes toothpaste, 6 toothbrushes, 5 deodorants, 2 bars of soap, 1 hand soap, 2 dish soap, 14 body wash, 5 shampoo, 2 conditioner, 1 razor, 1 heat wrap, 5 feminine care, 1 box of tampons, 2 lip balm, 1 barrette, 1 box of tissues, 1 box of vitamins, 2 boxes of cereal, 1 box of crackers

Total value of products to date: $207.08

Total spent to date: -$16.70

What deals did you find this week?