Questions From Good People – Donations and Volunteering

Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour

“Dear PoP,

I recently upgraded my kitchen pots and pans, and want to get rid of my old ones. They’re a decent brand (Calphalon) and are about 4 years old. They have some normal wear and tear, but are still very functional.

I was hoping to donate them to charity, but I don’t have previous experience donating this kind of household item. Would a charity accept this kind of donation, or are there sanitary concerns with used cookware? I would, of course, make sure they were thoroughly cleaned first.

Assuming they’d be accepted, does anyone have a recommendation of a good charity? I currently live near the U-street corridor, and while I’d prefer to donate to an organization that serves my immediate community, I’m not opposed to other suggestions.”

Any good suggestions here? Perhaps Martha’s Table located at 2114 14th St, NW.

“Dear PoP,

I’m looking for ways to find out about all the volunteer opportunities (or at least some/many of them) in DC. I’m wondering if anyone in PoPville has ideas of where to find this information. I volunteer as a beer drinker at the Red Derby most days, but this is not so much fulfilling as it is filling to my belly and emptying to my wallet.”

How about the newly opened 826DC in Columbia Heights. Any other suggestions?