Our Mission
Recycle Joy. Reduce Waste. Repeat.
Recycle Joy
With a never-ending news reel of natural disasters, pandemic updates, global warming threats, and hate crimes, it can’t be argued that the world could use more joy and we at The Re:JOY Project aim to tip the scale in that very direction.
If you are looking to declutter your life but you hate the idea of discarding good items that you once loved and cost you a pretty penny, you can feel good about donating them to our cause. We can make second use of the things you once cherished and find the less fortunate person or persons who will gladly love your things all over again. At The Re:JOY Project , we will see to it that your trash becomes “another person’s treasure”. There are disadvantaged people who need your old items and who will smile at the chance to find the re-enjoyment or ReJOY in them.
Did you know that in 2019, nearly 34 million people lived in poverty in the U.S. and since the pandemic, that number is closer to 40 million? The U.S. is 36th out of 175 developed countries in rates of childhood poverty, affecting 1 in every 6 American children. Sadly, the U.S. spends only 16.2% of its GDP on social programs, compared to 21.3% that similarly developed countries spend. That means it’s up to charitable organizations like ours to make up the difference and then some.
Reduce Waste
Most of us know by now that one of the easiest ways to reduce our personal impact on the environment is to recycle; recycle our cans, our glass, our paper products, our plastic containers, etc.
Over 2,000 landfills are currently open in the United States and while many are hidden from plain view, the negative issues that accompany landfills remain. Toxic microplastics can move easily up the food chain and onto our own dinner plates. Underneath the makeup that’s been plastered on landfills lay toxins, greenhouse gases, and leachate – all of which present concerning threats to our planet. If we want to leave this planet for our future generations, it’s critical that we have a proactive recycling plan in place – whether that’s in the office, in your community, or in your home.
The Re:JOY Project wants to do our part to curtail the adverse impacts of waste by offering people more creative ways to recycle their trash than dragging the standard blue or purple can to the end of the driveway.
Repeat Joy
It often feels easier as a parent to indulge our kids than to not. In the moment, telling them “yes” is always less painful than telling them “no”, for parent and child alike. If we have the means to check off everything on their wish lists, we will, because 1) we love to make our kids happy, and 2) we want to avoid the headaches that ensue when they are not. But the truth is the happiness one gets from opening a gift is only temporary and I can’t help but ask myself if I might be setting my kids up for disappointment in the future.
It is part of the mission of The Re:JOY Project to provide kids with the opportunity to BE THE GIVER.
Social scientists and neuroscientists alike have conducted many studies that have all reached the same conclusion; more happiness is achieved from GIVING than receiving.
Giving, however big or small the act, makes us feel good and the self-gratification we get is long-lasting. In this way, giving can get under one’s skin and we want our young volunteers to experience just that. We want kids to feel the joy of giving so that they might REPEAT THE JOY for many years to come.