Donate Your Airline Amenity Kits & Help Those in Need!
Over the years I have collected a lot of different airline amenity kits. Like, a lot, a lot. Even after giving many away to friends and letting house guests use whatever they want, I have more than I need, all living in some tubs, in my closet. I have always felt that they could be living a better life — doing good in the world. Sure, the containers are cool and I love my collection, but what is the end game here? Show them off when friends and family come to visit (a minority few would care)? Keep them around to pass down to future generations (they probably wouldn’t appreciate how cool they are)? Nah, I think I can do better. For a while I have thought about donating them to a good cause, but I wasn’t sure how. Now, I think I do — and I am taking you along with me!
I recently moved out to lovely Kitsap County (west of Seattle — a ferry ride away) and my “real” job gives me the opportunity to connect with non-profits in my community. Recently, I visited the local food banks and I realized that they all had a section that gave out toiletries. Some were well stocked, but many were not. Bingo! I have the supply…they have the demand.
Then my mind kept going. I bet many of you fine folks also have amenity kits that you collect, and maybe you wonder if there is something more you could be doing with them. If so, then I would like to help you find them a good home. Keep reading to find out how.
Now, I am not asking you to give them all up (there are one or two favorites I am keeping myself). But if you have airline amenity kits, a big drawer of hotel toiletries, or whatever sitting around… send them my way and I will make sure they get to folks in need!
JUST FOLLOW THESE THREE EASY STEPS:
- Email me at david@airlinereporter.com, tell me what you have, and I will send you a mailing address
- Mail me the stuff
- Celebrate good times (optional, but highly recommended)
When your stuff is received, it will be processed and hand delivered with a smile. Plus, I will mail you back some sweet AirlineReporter stickers as a thank you.
To start out, I am working with the South Kitsap Food Line. They are a good group of folks, doing great work in the community, and they are very excited about this idea. They do not have much in the way of toiletries right now and are hoping to not only give the items to their daily customers, but also to work with other local non-profits who help homeless youth, who often have a hard time finding products like these.
I honestly do not know what to expect with this experiment. I didn’t make any big promises, but obviously I will be a little sad if I am only delivering my stuff. If things are a bit slow, I might also reach out directly to some airlines and see if they might have some old kits to donate (if you have other ideas, please let me know). Of course if things go well and I get overwhelmed, that is totally okay (seriously, overwhelm me!). There are plenty of other organizations that would so very much appreciate the airline amenity kit love.
Thank you for your consideration and feel free to leave any ideas, ask any questions in the comments, or shoot me an email.
SOME QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
Q: Can I just drop them off to you in person?
A: Totes. If you live in the Seattle area, email me and I am happy to arrange a time for us to connect and I can get the stuff from you.
Q: How do you recommend that I send them?
A: No preference on my end, however USPS makes it pretty easy now: 1) Get some Priority Flat Rate boxes (no extra cost to have them mailed to you). 2) Create an address label. 3) Schedule a pick up from your home or work. You don’t even need to leave the house!
Q: Can’t I just donate my stuff to a local non-profit?
A: YES! And please do. For me, I wanted to do this for a long time, but didn’t know the “what, who, where, how” stuff and that was holding me back. Now that I figured it out, I want to make it easy for you to join me. But if this helps to motivate you to donate locally… sweet!
Q: Do they want the socks? Containers/bags? Eye masks? Chap stick? Shoe polish?
A: Yes… all the things! When I met with them to ask, they were super excited about the variety of things that come in the kits and they can give any and all to good people that need them!
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