Dear friends in New Hampshire,

Goodwill is hosting Portsmouth Green Drinks on Thursday, March 18 (tomorrow!) at Two Ceres Street Restaurant in Portsmouth.

Help us celebrate the one year anniversary of ReConnect, Goodwill’s computer recycling program.  Yours truly, and Bob Frederick, Goodwill’s Operations Manager, will also be sharing information on some of our other accomplishments and sustainability initiatives, as well as upcoming events in the Seacoast area.

Green Drinks is a great way to network and meet new people and businesses involved with sustainability.  Come join the conversation!

We hope to see you there!

Dear readers,

We have two events coming up in the next week in New Hampshire that I would like to share with you.  First up:

Goodwill Night at the Manchester Monarchs!

Mark your calendars, because February 13 is Goodwill Night at the Manchester Monarchs! Come watch the Monarchs take on the Syracuse Crunch (New York). Bring your gently used donations to the game and receive free prizes from Goodwill!  There will also be a special appearance by “Puffy G,” Goodwill’s mascot!

To purchase tickets online, please visit the Manchester Monarchs.

You can also buy tickets at the Verizon Wireless Arena Box Office, Monday – Friday, 9:30 am-5:30 pm and Saturday, 10:00 am-2:00 pm.  The box office is also open on game days three hours prior to game time through the end of the first intermission.

Join Goodwill for Concord Green Drinks

Goodwill is hosting Concord Green Drinks on Tuesday, February 16, from 6 to 8 pm.  The event will be held at the Barley House Restaurant & Tavern (132 N. Main Street, Concord).

We are celebrating the one-year anniversary of our ReConnect computer recycling program and delivering a small presentation about  Goodwill.  We hope you can join us!  We will have free appetizers available.

Green Drinks is a monthly event in which people in the community get together around a common interest – the natural environment and what we can do to be more sustainable in our daily lives and work.  Many Green Drinks events feature local organizations engaged in green practices.

You can RSVP on our Facebook page.

We are also hosting  Green Drinks events in Portsmouth, NH & Burlington, VT in the next few months – stay tuned for more details!

We have published a number of posts discussing different ways you can green your home, laundry routine, gift giving, and lifestyle.  Something we have not brought up is how to green the area in which you work.

We all work in different jobs, indoors and outdoors, but whether it is your office at work, or home office, there are little things you can do to create a more livable and “green” work space.  Thanks to Low Impact Living for some of these great ideas!

Form a green team
Gather a few co-workers together and meet monthly to discuss ways to green your own office.  Having more than one person involved with the initiative will help ensure follow through and create a culture of green thinking.

Recycling Basics
Set up a recycling program at your office for paper and cans & bottles.  If your company or organization cannot pay for a recycling service, recruit volunteers to share the responsibility of taking recyclables home each week.

Print double-sided
You can set your computer to print on both sides of the paper, saving your office or yourself money and reducing paper consumption.  Check out these instructions from Indiana University or Middlebury College on how to print double-sided for PC’s and Macs.   The EPA also offers some great tips on how to reduce your overall paper consumption.

Recycle your E-waste!
Offices often have a backlog of outdated computer equipment.  Make sure your company’s E-waste is responsibly recycled.  If you are in Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont, your office can donate outdated computer equipment to Goodwill free of charge!  Learn more about our ReConnect program.

Natural Cleaners
Work with your office manager or others to encourage the use of natural cleaners in your office.  According to Low Impact Living, employees often complain of poor indoor air quality.  Here in northern New England, where our windows need to remain shut more than half the year, it is important we keep our indoor air free of toxins.

Pick up some Plants
Certain kinds of plants can help improve air quality and add to the aesthetic and feel of your office space.  Check out our previous post on winter cleaning tips in which we discussed some ideal plants and look for an upcoming post that discusses different plants in detail.

Reusable Lunchware
Keep a plate, bowl, and silverware in your office for lunch and/or stock your office’s kitchen area with ceramic and reusable plates and silverware.  This will reduce paper product waste and save your office some green, too!

Reduce the Consumption of Bottled Water
According to Low Impact Living, Americans throw out over 35 BILLION plastic water bottles every year!  Yikes!  Instead of buying your water in a bottle, encourage your office to sign up for water delivery service and fill your own glass with water or just stick to the basics: drink tap water!

What does your office do to be more green?  Post your comments and ideas and we’ll keep a running list going!

Dear readers,

I apologize for the lack of posts in the last few weeks, but I think we have a good excuse! We have been busy preparing the launch of a new, exciting program…

I am excited to announce that Goodwill has partnered with Dell to launch the ReConnect program in Maine and New Hampshire (the program begins in Vermont on February 9). You are now able to drop off used computers and peripherals at any of our stores and donation centers FREE of charge!

Dell has successfully partnered with close to 50 other Goodwill agencies across the country and we are thrilled to bring this program to northern New England. We are the first non-profit in all three states to offer free computer recycling for residents.

The goal of the program is two-fold:

1. to divert used computers and computer equipment from landfills
2. to provide the community a way to responsibly recycle used computer equipment.
3. AND! We have a goal of diverting nearly one million pounds of computer waste from landfills in the first year of the ReConnect program. Help us reach our goal!

We now accept the following:

• Any Brand of Computer (Desktop and Tower)*
• Laptop
• Cords
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Monitor
• Scanner
• Printer
• Fax Machine and Parts

*Donor is responsible for wiping all personal information from hard drives before donating computer equipment.

We accept donations from residents and businesses. If you have a large donation, please contact us to arrange details.