MERS Goodwill and the Boy Scouts of America Greater St. Louis Area Council Partner on Earth Day to Collect Donations

    ST. LOUIS, MO, April 09, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- MERS Goodwill and the Greater St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts will hold a collection drive on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22. From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Saturday, Boy Scout Units in more than 20 districts in the region will help collect donations while completing advancement requirements for the sustainability merit badge and others! For a list of locations, visit: http://www.stlbsa.org/earth-day.

The community will be able to drop off donations to Scouts from 51 counties while they show their commitment to reduce, reuse, and recycle. By donating general items and electronics, donors are not only helping to put people to work, but are giving them an opportunity of a lifetime. All efforts to recycle used goods keep material out of landfills and help MERS Goodwill stores generate revenue to advance the Goodwill mission and programs.

"We are so appreciative of the community's donations to Goodwill and are excited to team up with the Boy Scouts this year for Earth Day," said David Kutchback, President and CEO of MERS Goodwill. "With 20 different locations serving as pop-up donation centers, we hope to make an impact on the environment as well as the Scouts who will earn advancement requirements for their contribution and support."

MERS Goodwill accepts the following donations: clothing, shoes, jewelry, books, games, sports equipment, housewares, collectables, domestics and working or non-working electronics. Starting in 2016, TV's CANNOT be accepted for recycling. A full list of items MERS Goodwill accepts is available on the website: http://www.mersgoodwill.org/donate/donation-details. All items will be accepted free of charge, and donors do not need to sort their items prior to dropping them off. Participants will receive a tax receipt for their donation.

This is the second drive that MERS Goodwill and the Boy Scouts will be working on together. Goodwill was a 2016 sponsor of the Boy Scouts' 32nd annual Scouting For Food drive, which gathered over 2.2 million items of donated food. It was the largest Scouting For Food collection ever recorded at the Greater St. Louis Area Council.

Also in the April 2017 Earth Day line-up, Goodwill is teaming up with Ikea and will have a donation trailer located at the St. Louis store at 1 IKEA Way, corner of Forest Park Parkway and Vandeventer. Between 10 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., donors can drop off items to the location, and those that donate furniture will receive a discount coupon to Ikea! Additionally, MERS Goodwill will partner with the St. Louis Cardinals to hold its sixth annual electronics recycling and general donations drive. The drive will be held on Friday, April 21, during the Cardinals Green Week. During the event, all donors will receive the half-price Cardinal ticket voucher. Donations will be accepted from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Busch Stadium Lot C Parking Lot.

About the Greater St. Louis Area Council
A United Way agency, the Greater St. Louis Area Council provides youth with character development programs and values-based leadership training. The council, one of the largest in the Boy Scouts of America, has more than 66,000 members and nearly 15,000 adult volunteers. They come from 51 different counties in the Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and St. Louis Metropolitan areas. For more information, visit stlbsa.org.

About MERS Missouri Goodwill Industries
MERS Goodwill changes lives through the power of work. Its vision is a community where each individual has the opportunity to learn, work, and achieve their greatest potential. Annually serving more than 63,000 individuals, the non-profit agency operates in 75 locations serving 89 counties in the bi-state area. Revenues from 43 Goodwill stores assist with funding MERS Goodwill job training and employment services. MERS Goodwill is a proud member of the United Way. For more information about MERS Goodwill or to find a Goodwill donation center near you, call (314) 241-3464 or visit http://www.mersgoodwill.org.

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