Host your own donation bin!
Free Fridge Salem is by community and for community. This entire project depends upon monitary and in-kind donations as well as the generous donation of time and efforts from willing members of our community. The freedom of mutual aid allows community members to contribute in ways that work for them, for their schedule, their skill level and as much or as little as they can.
Currently we headed into a cold season and needs are at an all time high. We are looking to see if You are willing to set up a donation collection bin within your job, school, church, gym, favorite coffee shop, and other like locations to collect intentional aid for our neighbors.
We are looking to collect, clean, new and gently used items to support our unsheltered neighbors during this colder season. These items include but are not limited to, hats, gloves, scarfs, socks, pants, long sleeved shirts, jackets, sweaters, tarps, blankets, hand warmers, thermal wear, long johns, sleeping bags, tarps, towels and boots.
Typically a collection bin is out for a 2 - 3 weeks, and could be any sort of tub or bin with some signage indicating what is being collected, and the cause. Click this link to find a letter introducing Free Fridge Salem that you can use. free fridge salem intro letter You can also download our zine by clicking this link newest free fridge salem zine
Once the duration of time has been met, or perhaps the bin is full, all items can be distributed directly to pantries and fridges, as well as to Soup Squad where they can go directly out to our neighbors. When distributing to the pantries and fridges directly be mindful to not over fill the shelves because this can overwhelm folks shopping at the pantries and fridges in addition to taking up precious space used to stock food.
In the past we have held collections bins, at Lifesource, collecting summer aid. Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails has been a great partner with Free Fridge Salem over the years and will be hosting their own collection bin this season. On Tuesday, December 12th from 6pm to 9pm at their Winter Holiday Market there will be a collection bin awaiting all your donations. We have also had members hold collections at their church and within their knitting communities to collect hand made hats for our neighbors.
Every effort is appreciated no matter how big or how small. There is enough when we all share and together we can move mountains, or at least keep a few folks warm this winter.
Image Description: a creme color background, with beige accents. on the top of the image it reads "Free Fridge Salem. Volunteers Needed. Looking for community members to host donation bins, to collect intentional seasonal aid for our neighbors. More information in the caption below." beneath the text are two cartoon images each holding boxes labeled "donations"
