Magazine Literacy Bee

It's best to know where the recycled magazines will be dropped off and to get an idea of the needs of your recipient agencies prior to organizing a KinderHarvest collection. That way, you know you can bring them to new readers and donors will be interested in knowing where their recycled magazines are going.

I called a few organizations in the Trenton area to ask if they would be interested in magazines from our KinderHarvest collections at Starbucks and Whole Foods. A couple said yes. Now I've visited the Homefront program that provides transitional services to homeless families and the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) to meet with their directors and literacy staff. Each explained their programs and needs so that I can better organize the magazines that our KinderHarvest program delivers. There will be future planning meetings as well, and we will stay on the lookout for new shelters, food pantries, senior centers, and other programs.

It's good to serve a variety of agencies with different needs. Where one may want to target certain types of magazines to certain programs, others can use magazines of all kinds. This will help you to make sure that all your magazines are put to good use by new readers.