My "Common" Cause

[MadHatter]

It's coming up on the holidays (faster than I'd like to admit) and I wanted to let you in on something I do every year.

In early December I gather up all the cards that I don't particularly want and bring them over to the local Boys & Girls Club of America. It's so much fun! The kids there pour over the cards almost immediately, searching for players from their favorite teams. They don't care about dollar amounts, they're just thrilled to have cards -- looking for the Cubs, or the Tigers - but mostly the Red Sox.

At any rate, the last few years that I've gone, friends in the hobby have sent donations along as well. Not looking for star cards, just the commons you no longer want. If you'd like to add some of your commons to the box that I'm planning to bring over, just drop me a PM and I'll send you my address.

Note: This is not a way for me to accumulate cards - trust me, I have more than I need already. This is one of the few ways that I generally use the hobby to bring some happiness to others. And this season I’m planning to bring the digital camera along to take photos of the kids - I'll post them here if that's the case.

Thanks – and let me know if you have any questions or are interested in helping out!

[howiek]

Thats a nice idea.
I hear that your local hospital will also except donations of sports cards for the kids. I considered it in the past. But, now that I'm doing the TTM thing
I could potentially use those cards.
But, I guess I could spare a couple of 800 count boxes of cards.

[MadHatter]

Thats a nice idea.
I hear that your local hospital will also except donations of sports cards for the kids. I considered it in the past. But, now that I'm doing the TTM thing
I could potentially use those cards.
But, I guess I could spare a couple of 800 count boxes of cards.

VERY interesting - I think I like your idea better. I'll reach out to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute here in Boston today (I haven't heard back from my Boys & Girls Club rep).

[J.P]

Man, a few years ago I didnt know what to do with all my unwanted commons, and i couldnt find a kid who wanted them, so I ended up throwing them away, if I felt bad then, I feel worst now....

[MadHatter]

Definitely not the intention!

[MadHatter]

God word back from Dana Farber Cancer Institute (via the Jimmy Fund) and they aren't particularly interested in the cards. I may stick to the original Boys & Girls Club plan but will do more research on other area hospitals.

[TheKidHypno]

hey im interested in helping out. i'm in the process of moving from ny to florida and i am getting rid of a TON of cards.

[MadHatter]

hey im interested in helping out. i'm in the process of moving from ny to florida and i am getting rid of a TON of cards.

Hey - thanks for posting. I'll drop you a Pm now.

Thanks!

[MadHatter]

Thanks to "ExtraInnings" I've got one shoebox full and ready to go - am hoping to complete two full boxes (at a minimum for donation).

Thanks again!

[MadHatter]

Thanks out to dmb for his donations to the cause. Getting closer to delivery date. I'll update this thread as I close in.

Thanks,
-Mike

[MadHatter]

UPDATE
The card donations will be going to Boston Children's Hospital. I received an e-mail this morning confirming that they would be thrilled with the donations. I've got December 13th penciled into my calendar as the dropoff date. If anyone else would like to (or is planning to) add to the pile, please do so before 12/13.

Thanks again - received ANOTHER box of cards from dmb this weekend. You guys have been great.

-MadHatter

[MadHatter]

Just got another donation from "ExtraInnings" thanks!

Drop-off will be this Saturday at about 11:00 am. I've been working with one of the volunteers over there who is really excited about the cards. Unfortunately, because I'm delivering on a weekend, It doesn't appear that I'll get the opportunity to personally deliver with the volunteers. There are set days for that type of thing which, unfortunately, fall on weekdays during my work week. But the volunteers assure me that they will make sure they all get disbursed. My three-year old has been singing songs about it all week! :)

HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has donated. It's such a little thing, but can mean so much to these kids. I'm proud of us all for helping to brighten the holidays for these kids.

Thanks again! :clapping:nod::applaud::dance:gt:hyper:
-Mike

[davidsb]

About a year ago, my collecting priorities changed dramatically. I use to collect every set, every manufacturer that was affordable, had well over 100,000 cards. I decided to narrow by collection to just Topps, Topps Heritage and Detroit Tiger cards from any manufacturer. Everything that did not fit into my new collecting focus got sorted out into teams and sent to either childrens hospitals or B&G Clubs in that teams respective cities. I packaged cards into team bags of 25 cards each for easier distibution. I also contacted each facility ahead of time to make sure they would accept them because about 25% of the places did not accept pre opened materials. In a couple of cities I had to go 3 or 4 deep on my list before I found a good home for them. Each facility received 2000-3000 cards and when I was finished, I had sent out almost 70,000 cards. Shipping was horrible, especially to Toronto and Montreal but oh well. It was all for a good cause.

[MadHatter]

About a year ago, my collecting priorities changed dramatically. I use to collect every set, every manufacturer that was affordable, had well over 100,000 cards. I decided to narrow by collection to just Topps, Topps Heritage and Detroit Tiger cards from any manufacturer. Everything that did not fit into my new collecting focus got sorted out into teams and sent to either childrens hospitals or B&G Clubs in that teams respective cities. I packaged cards into team bags of 25 cards each for easier distibution. I also contacted each facility ahead of time to make sure they would accept them because about 25% of the places did not accept pre opened materials. In a couple of cities I had to go 3 or 4 deep on my list before I found a good home for them. Each facility received 2000-3000 cards and when I was finished, I had sent out almost 70,000 cards. Shipping was horrible, especially to Toronto and Montreal but oh well. It was all for a good cause.

That's awesome - good for you. I wish I had thought well enough in advance to prepackage the cards into 25-card lots. Maybe next year.

Thanks for the story.

[MadHatter]

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Thanks one final time to everyone who contributed. I was able to make it over to Children's Hospital in Boston this morning. Two big show boxes filled with cards, packs, and other assorted goodies.

Hoping to double that next year!
Happy Holidays all!

Below are just two pics...
1) My daughter, Amelia, sitting in front of the Christmas Tree with the cards before departure.
2) Making our way into Children's

-Mike

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/mpappagallo/eBay/IMG_1176.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/mpappagallo/eBay/IMG_1178.jpg

[dmbfan]

Mike-I'm glad that I was able to help in some small way. I'm looking forward to helping out more next year. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this great effort. May you and your family have a very blessed and safe Christmas.