The Modern Venus Blog

Happy Spring Weekend: Donate your used Trainers

The weather this weekend is going to be in the 70s here in NYC!   I will be out and about, including my standard 5-7 mile runs in beautiful - and now blooming - Prospect Park.  Here is a spring picture of one of my favorite trees there for your enjoyment!

The park this morning was FILLED with runners out enjoying the weather and their joy of getting back into training . . . to that end, more training = new sneakers!

Have you ever thought about what to do with your old sneakers?   Though they might be absolutely a mess, I still felt guilty dumping them.   Here are two options of what to do with trainers you don't need anymore:

1.  Soles 4 Souls is a nonprofit that collects donated shoes, which are then used to aid the hurting worldwide. Shoe companies, retailers, and individuals can donate footwear (both new and used).  The idea behind gifts of shoes is nothing new to the Soles4Souls team, as they coordinated relief efforts for the Asian Tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, netting over 1 Million pairs donated for these disasters.   

2.  Nike's Reuse A Shoe Project takes your worn-out kicks and turns them into Nike Grind, a material used in sports surfaces, playgrounds and even new Nike products.   There are drop-off points all over the country (the world, even) - you can map out where your closest one is online. 

Purrrrs for No Fur

This is definitely the coolest anti-fur ad in a while starring Corey Hart, courtesy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization that I have supported for many years.   Please - don't wear fur - of any kind - in coats, as trim, as earmuffs, as bags.  You wouldn't wear your cat or dog - so why any other animal?  Have a Hart - I mean, heart! 

Easy Carbon Offsetting - Hmm, what's that?

I just booked a trip to the West Coast on Jet Blue . . . and how fabulous, once I finished the check-out process the airline sent me to a page where I could book rental cars, hotels, etc.  That page also gave me the option of visiting CarbonFund.org.    CarbonFund is a nonprofit that makes it simple for anyone, or any organization, to reduce and offset their carbon emissions. So, for example, my trip to San Francisco:  I calculated on the website the length of the flight, and CarbonFund.org tallied that to offset the carbon/pollution, etc. that I will be contributing via my travels, I could pay only $9.00.   You can tally any of your travels:  do you drive a lot?  They will figure it out for you.  CarbonFund.org even gave me the ability to choose where I wanted my money to go - I decided to dedicate it to reforestation.  Lots of companies, such as Jet Blue, are now partnering with CarbonFund.org to help the environment - so not only can you use it personally, perhaps you can get your companies to join on as well! 

Massive Paper Savings: No More Phone Books!

I never use my Yellow or White Pages anymore - do you?  I just go online.

Those giant books just added clutter to my home and I am sick of lugging them into the trash every year.  The mess always looks like this - ack. 

Solution:  here is a website called Yellow Pages Go Green where you can register yourself to STOP the annual delivery of yellow and white pages!!  All you do is log in your info, and they take care of the rest.  Now let your fingers do the walking across your keyboards to save tons of natural resources!