Category Archives: environment

greenovate boston logo

Greenovate Boston’s Upcycling Panel

Each year, Americans throw out close to 3000 pounds of waste. Come hear about how some Bostonians are reinventing trash as treasure, from transforming unused shipping containers to hydroponic farms, old t-shirts into quilts, and how you can upcycle e-waste & retired electronics into charitable giving without writing a check.

How does upcycling compare to recycling? How do shipping containers become hydroponic farms and old t-shirts turn into quilts? How does upcycling electronics create funding for non-profits and charities?

Join us at District Hall, Tuesday September 16 from 6-7:30 PM to hear from a panel of Boston entrepreneurs and experts who are transforming trash into treasure!

Speakers include:

Brooke Nash (MassDEP), Municipal Waste Reduction Branch Chief

Brad McNamara (Freight Farms), CEO/Founder, Freight Farms

Ross Lohr (Project RePat), CEO/Founder, Project RePat

Julie Shane (Causes International), CEO/Founder, Causes International

Upcycle

High School Student Upcycles for the JDRF

Wellesley Massachusetts high school student, Luke Arney, wanted raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to help his ailing brother who lives with the disease. Luke started an Upcycle Fundraiser to create funds for this cause to try to find a cure. By Upcycling retired smartphones, laptops, and tablets, Luke was able to raise almost $700 in a couple of weeks; all without asking for money from donors.

He contacted Causes International and started an Upcycling campaign within minutes. CI provided him with promotional materials and a custom web link to his fundraiser. He spread the word by posting the flyers in school and the local library.

In addition to raising funds, he was able to keep 20+ devices out of landfills and prevented thousands of cancer-causing e-Waste toxins from polluting the planter.

Next Steps?

Luke is launching an online Upcycling campaign to raise even more for Juvenile Diabetes Research with an incentive– for every 25 Upcycle donations, CI will donate a $25 gift card to be won by the pool of Upcycle participants. To help Luke and the JDRF, Upcycle your retired device by clicking on the link below. Upcycling is free to all participants and includes free UPS shipping.
https://www.causesinternational.com/upcycle/luke-for-jdrf

Start your own Upcycle campaign today! Turn e-Waste into charitable giving and help protect the environment.

 

 

Upcycle

Top 5 Reasons to Upcycle

Need a reason to Upcycle (donate) your old iPhone, iPad, or Laptop? Are these devices collecting dust? Is your 2009 laptop an unreliable doorstop? Do you think your shattered-screened iPhone is worthless? Here are the top 5 reasons why you should Upcycle your smartphones, tablets, laptops, or IOS devices for a good cause.

5. You want to make room in your junk drawer.
Does your desk look like it’s growing tentacles of wires? It’s time to clean out your junk drawer. What? You have a bunch of old smartphones that have been sitting there since your whole family upgraded to the latest and greatest? Perfect! Upcycle them and choose a charity or cause to benefit. Think about it; the desk will be clean, the money can fund something important, and now you have a teaching moment with your kids about the importance of helping others without writing a check. (And bragging to the hippy neighbors about how “green” your family is becoming won’t hurt either.)

4. You are about to upgrade to the new iPhone 6 or latest Blackberry.
The average person upgrades to a new smartphone every 18 months. Last year 80 million iPhones were sold (and even more Android smartphones). That means if everyone who buys the iPhone 6 and Upcycles their iPhone 4 or 5 to charity, it could raise… wait gotta get my calculator… hmm… the numbers don’t go that high. Let’s just say there are a lot of zeros! Think about what that money could do for your favorite non-profit, school or organization!

3. You need to move on.
Hanging on to those old text messages from your ex? There is a reason they didn’t carry over to your new phone. The Digital Gods are giving you a message… move on. Upcycle that phone! It will be therapeutic! You can do it! Think of the good it can do for your favorite charity. And don’t worry about anyone else ever reading the remnants of your past love… all data is swiped and data destruction is 100% guaranteed!

2. You don’t want our future generations to have 3 eyes.
Okay maybe 3 eyes are from some horror movie I watched recently, but the e-Waste health hazards that these devices create by polluting our environment is a REAL issue. Over 400,000 cellphones are thrown out EVERY DAY. Only 13% percent of those are recycled. The rest sit in landfills all around the world and seep cancer-causing toxins into the water and land. We can prevent that! Give that device an extra long life by Upcycling!

1. You want to make a difference.
All kidding aside, you truly can make a difference by Upcycling your outdated devices. It’s the free way to be green and help out a charity. It’s super easy. Whether it’s just Upcycling online or starting an Upcycling fundraiser for that 5k you’ve been training for. There is no cost, shipping is free, and it’s 100% tax deductible. Join other well-known and reputable groups (The Jimmy Fund, Boy Scout councils across the country, Bacardi, etc.) and jump on the Upcycle bandwagon!

For more information go to www.causesinternational.com or give us a call (781) 444-8800. Start Upcycling today. Don’t see your charity you want to donate to? Let us know and we will add it.

Screen Shot 2013-05-09 at 1.43.40 PM

Press Release: The Jimmy Fund and CI

Upcycling outdated electronics helps conquer cancer! Used laptops and iPhones create hope and funding for those fighting for a cure.

“Don’t Dump it…Donate it” Upcycle Campaign Inspires Donations”

Needham Heights, MA- Within hours of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/The Jimmy Fund kicking-off their Earth Day electronics Upcycling campaign donations of iPhones and laptops started streaming in. These items convert to much needed financial support for Dana Farber and The Jimmy Fund to continue ground-breaking efforts to cure and care for a variety of cancers. Upcycling electronics is an eco-friendly way for individuals and businesses to support charities without writing a check. Outgrown electronic devices and gadgets can be donated online and shipping is FREE giving donors a unique way to support the causes they care about while protecting the environment. With over 400,000 cell phones thrown away each day hundreds of thousands of potential donors have the opportunity to do incredible good without expending a dollar.

“We have seen great reception from individuals and enterprise organizations that are excited about Upcycling. People understand that Upcycling is good for charity and good for the environment because it keeps electronics in the active life stream and out of landfills…Upcycling helps everyone-including the donor who doesn’t have to write a check or pay for recycling.” —Julie Shane, Causes International CEO & Founder

The partnership between the Jimmy Fund and Causes International, Inc., is one of many new alliances the company has recently formed that includes Fitness Feeds for Feeding America, and Brandeis University for the Shalupe Foundation. Individuals can also donate to other charities such as, The One Fund in support of the Boston Marathon victims. Florida based Barcardi USA, is also Upcycling for Make-a-Wish Foundation for corporate responsibility month.

Causes International is a green cause marketing company with a unique web based Upcycling platform created to enable non-profits a new way to engage their base of supporters by accepting online donations of outdated electronic devices. Causes International also empowers donors who want to fundraise for a cause by providing custom Upcycle fundraising pages. A simple online registration process is all that is required. Once registered, both non-profits and individuals complete a simple fundraiser template and can begin accepting online donations of outdated electronics in minutes.

Businesses and corporations can also support their favorite charities by Upcycling outdated company equipment and hosting employee Upcycle events.

“Sustainability departments feel confident working with us. We guarantee strict methods for data destruction, are HIPAA compliant, report the disposition of every item by model number and tell our corporate partners the positive environmental impact of Upcycling. Our safe and secure process makes it easy for businesses to contribute to charities by Upcycling.” –Kitty Schrow Dowd, Vice President of Business Development.

To find out more about Upcycling used electronics

visit: www.causesinternational.com

email: [email protected]

voice: 781-444-8800.