WINDERMERE COMMUNITY ASN

HANDS ON FORSYTH
By Denise Carleton, Reaping Nature Productions

Hands on Forsyth has LOTS & LOTS of volunteer opportunities in October. Here's a quick list:

Oct. 1, Cumming Community Clean-up, a part of Hands On GA Week & Gov. Purdue's Call to Service
Oct. 8-18, Forsyth Disability Coalition & Literacy Forsyth Booths at the Cumming Fair & Festival
Oct. 17, Boulderdash 5K Run, sponsored by the Healthcare Association

For more information on these and other projects, please go to the Hands On Forsyth website at http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.handsonforsyth.org. Click on Volunteer Opportunities, Browse Projects to view an alphabetical list and to sign up.

If you are involved with a civic, church or school group and need community service projects, please let me know. Many of these projects are open to teens and the 9/11 Silverware Wrap & Military Card Writing can include children with their parents.

If your non-profit has an event coming up that needs volunteers, Hands On Forsyth has a volunteer website to help you recruit volunteers, free of charge. Call or email if we can help. Thanks for supporting the Hands On Forsyth program!
Safe Disposal of Medicines: http://www.smarxtdisposal.net/index.html

WINDERMERE'S FIRST GO GREEN EVENT
Thank you to all of our residents who came out to learn how they can help make a difference. Thank you to our participating sponsors that made this event possible. We can't wait for next year's event!

Making a Difference: Don't Trash It - Recycle It!
By Denise Carleton, Reaping Nature Productions

Do you put items out on garbage day hoping that someone will come by and pick them up? Do you not know how to best dispose of certain items if you don't want to send them to the landfill to live forever? Here are some ideas so your trash can become someone else's treasure or be recycled in an environmentally-friendly manner.

Forsyth County Recycling Center (Old Atlanta Road - before you get to James Burgess), besides bagged trash and recycling, will accept shoes, books, clothing and used motor oil! At the Coal Mountain Facility you can recycle: scrap metal - car parts, lawn mowers, lawn equipment, pipes, tools, sinks, open drums, satellite dishes, and tires - $3 per tire, $15 per tire if on the rim (cash only). For a complete listing of items, visit www.forsythco.com.

Free Cycle www.freecycle.org The Freecycle Network� is a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Earth 911 www.earth911.com Your guide to local resources including recycling centers, how to recycle, pollution prevention and how to help protect the environment.

Read It Again Books (John's Creek) www.readitagainontheweb.com They give you discounts towards purchased books when you trade in used books!

Jesse's House www.jesseshouse.org Jesse's House is a non-profit organization that provides emergency and long-term care to youth who have suffered abuse or delinquency. They grew out of the recognized need by the Cumming/Forsyth Council on Youth and Concerned Citizens for an emergency children's shelter in the North Georgia area.

Have old toys, bikes, scooters, t-shirts, shorts or children's books? Ask your child's school if they can use your items or contact a local preschool or private school.

There is no shortage of charitable organizations and schools that want and need items you might consider trash or not know what to do with. Together we can make a difference in the lives of others, including our own, so don't trash it . . . recycle it!

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING
You Gotta Be Kidding is the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Environmental Management's comprehensive integrated strategyto boost recycling in the state and to keep these valuable materials out of the landfills and in our local mills and factories. Recycling is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to be green. It may not be as trendy as a hybrid or as hip as new ENERGY STAR fridge, but it's easy and convenient. Yet annually, Georgians dispose of 2.6 million tons of recyclable materials worth an estimated $300 million. And, as Georgia is home to some of the strongest recycling markets in the nation, these wasted resources also hurt our local economy. Join the campaign today at www.yougottabekidding.org! 1,000 orders needed by December 2009! To signup for your "Recycle 4 Georgia" license plate, download the form at http://www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.organd get it to your local tag office.