Tips for Organizing Your Paper Drive From The Experts!
Choose a leader!
Every paper drive must have a champion who will accept overall responsibility. With a dedicated leader to give it a firm push, your recycling project will be off to a good start and can be kept rolling with much less effort.
Allow enough time!
The most successful paper drives take some time. Please allow yourself 6-8 weeks to get the word out about your paper drive and to collect the newspapers.
Set a goal!
Your group members will be more enthusiastic and motivated if they have a goal. It is important that everyone know why you are raising funds and how they will be spent (such as a field trip, team equipment, church camp, or donation to charity).
If you can, have a long-term goal or provide aftercare, once people get in the habit of saving newspaper it’s hard to let go!
Define you collection area!
Based upon your goal, you will be able to determine how large an area you need to cover. It will then be easier to get your message to everyone in this defined area. Your “area” may even be a group of people. For example, you may want every family in your school or church to participate in your paper drive.
Determine the best collection method!
There are many ways to collect newspapers. The best collection method for your group will depend on your group’s location, resources, facilities, transportation and the number of people who will be collecting.
- Curb side pickup: People can be encouraged to get in the habit of saving their newspapers and setting them out on a designated day (the first Saturday of the month, for example), and group members can drive through and pick them up.
- Permanent collection point: People can get in the habit of saving their newspapers and bringing them to the collection point (such as a church, school, club, or even an old barn).
- Temporary collection point: This option is ideal for groups that are not able to collect at the curbside and do not have storage. It is extremely important to schedule a convenient time and place for people to bring their newspapers and to make sure they know about it. The newspapers are then loaded directly into a trailer.
Prepare your announcements!
Your announcements should always include:
- WHO is sponsoring the paper drive, including a contact person and a phone number
- WHAT is being collected
- WHEN newspapers will be collected
- HOW the money will be used (Why you are collecting newspaper – how the money will be used.)
Spread the news!
Some of the most effective methods is to get people involved in your paper drive are: Public Service Announcements (which are generally free) with radio and television stations as well as local newspapers, church and school bulletins, word of mouth; telling neighbors and friends, placing posters all over town (with proper permission), or many more.
So don't wait, contact your Applegate newspaper recycling facility today!