Using Coupons for Charitable Giving

If an item is free (or better), I almost always try to empty my coupon stock to obtain the product for my stockpile. Many people (especially my husband) ask me why I need a stockpile of more toothpaste, deodorant, and other personal care items than I'll ever use. This post is meant as a basic overview of what you can do with execessive stockpiles and unused coupons.

1. Probably most obvious is to donate items to food pantries, women’s shelters, and homeless shelters. The Girl Scouts collect personal care items and the Boy Scouts collect food through their Scouting for Food program. In St. Louis, the Girl Scouts will be collecting products in April. These programs typically leave a bag at your door one weekend and collect the following weekend. You may also be able to donate at your local school or church where a troop is located. The USPS also runs a similar program where they collect non-perishable food items at your personal residence.

2. Sample size products – Walmart.com, Sam’s Club, and Costco frequently offer free samples via their website. Sam’s Club and Costco’s request forms ask for your membership number, but most of the time you can leave this blank and still receive the sample. Sample size products are a good item to send to military personnel as they are moving frequently. The Ronald McDonald House also requests sample size products for families staying with them. For those unfamiliar with the Ronald McDonald House, they provide free lodging for families with children in local children hospitals. Similar to the Ronald McDonald House is the Hope Lodge in St. Louis. The Hope Lodge is operated by the American Cancer Society and provides free lodging to patients undergoing cancer treatments at local hospitals. They have a large donation request list on their website, which includes many personal care products as well.

3. You can also work directly with your church or other community groups to donate items directly to families in need. Many churches could also use help themselves and you could supply hand soap, dish soap, paper products, etc. that they would normally spend money on.

4. Finally, excess coupons – Send to military families. Many commissaries accept expired coupons up to six months after expiration, so gather your expired coupons as your cleaning your coupon stockpile. Please visit http://www.ocpnet.org/ for more information about the Overseas Coupon Program.

Please leave your comments on further ways to use your couponing and saving skills for the benefit of others.