Tips for Regifting this Holiday Season

When all the presents are unwrapped this holiday season and the stockings are unstuffed, we bet a lot of people will be asking the same question: what do you do with the things your well-meaning friends and family gave you that you simply have no use for?

The too-small sweater your aunt FedExed from across the country. The copy of last year's bestseller that you read last year. The gloves that don't fit. The game your kids won't play. The gift card to a store whose nearest location is a hundred miles away.

What to do? We suggest you make someone else's day.

More than a thousand cause-based organizations have registered their needs on The Giving Effect (www.TheGivingEffect.com), a site that's hoping to connect charities with new donors this Christmas. Donating is easy—browse the site by needs, location, and categories to find causes you’d like to connect with. Then, complete a simple form to arrange a pickup, drop-off, or shipment. Tax receipts are issued via email when the items are received.

That sweater you got? The Community Closet in Bridgeport, CT, is one of hundreds of causes listed on The Giving Effect that are seeking clothing donations (http://thecommunitycloset.thegivingeffect.com/).

The book you already read? Kujali International, in Los Angeles, is looking for English novels to distribute to orphaned teens in Tanzania (http://kujali.thegivingeffect.com/).

Si, Se Puede! Learning Center in Hollister, CA, needs games (http://sisepuede.thegivingeffect.com/).

You get the idea. There are almost certainly causes listed on The Giving Effect that can make good use of the things you don't need.

Visit www.thegivingeffect.com.