Reusable Bags Are Saving Lives And Building Community Spirit...

Toting a reusable bag to the grocery store or pharmacy has become more commonplace in the past few years.  In some communities, plastic bags have even been banned from some markets to strong-arm patrons into the habit of bringing their own bags to the market.

I have written before about Whole Foods and their global initiatives that provide financial assistance to third world countries.  Well, they also dole out a helping hand close to home, too.  Every couple of months they offer two or three local charities for their Whole Foods shoppers to select from.  Here's how it works.  You have the option of taking a ten cent per bag credit toward your grocery bill or you can select from that month's preselected groups, and give your credit directly to a worthwhile organization.

After months of handing my credits off to cancer funds, animal rescues, and our local food pantry, it occurred to me that Target and other grocery stores were offering a similar credit, but not the option to donate to a local cause.  Can you imagine how much money could be easily filtered into our own communities if Trader Joe's, Target, and other local grocery stores put forth a program similar to Whole Foods?

I am going to make the effort to drop my idea into the suggestion boxes of my favorite stores that already give reusable bag credits, and hopefully they will jump on the philanthropic bandwagon.  While five and ten cents may not seem like much, it is the collective efforts of a community that make a significant difference to the recipients of our local non-profit organizations.

Pass this along to friends, family, and your Facebook and Twitter followers.  Let's see how many of our favorite businesses we can influence to implement a similar program!