One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Put another way, one kid’s nasty pair of kicks is another kid’s rubbery playground surface.

Inspired by the hundreds of no-cost ways to make a difference featured in How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist,  we decided to do our own small act of no-cost giving and hold a sneaker drive.  At the end of the week, we had collected a whopping 130 beat up, stinky, too tight, too old sneakers. 

The sneakers  were for the Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe program which recycles the sneakers into Nike Grind, a rubbery material used in athletic surfaces like running tracks, basketball courts and playgrounds. Nike has donated Nike Grind to 300 sport and playground surfacing projects across the country.

The picture above doesn’t do the pile justice.  It took three people toting four huge garbage bags through the hot, crowded streets of midtown to get them to the Niketown store.

It may not be John D. Rockefeller’s brand of philanthropy, but then again, the scientists of his day never found a clever way to recycle top hats.

John D. Rockefeller contemplates the merits of a Standard Oil spats drive

Benjamin Franklin once said, “The noblest question in the world is what good may I do in it?” And many of us have the impulse to “do good,” but don’t really know where to start, who to contact, and what is needed. Nicole Bouchard Boles’ How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist, shows you how to help others on a daily basis – without having to donate millions or become a full-time volunteer.

She explains how to use your talents, trash, family, computers, and community to contribute to a cause, along with the names and websites of organizations to contact. Maybe you can start by cleaning out your cluttered closets and donating no-longer-needed belongings to one of the groups below:

Be a Fairy Godmother: The Glass Slipper Project (glassslipperproject.org) collects new and gently worn formal wear and accessories for girls who could not otherwise afford prom night finery.  Check out similar organizations like Fairy Godmothers, Inc. (fairygodmothersinc.com), Cinderella Project (cinderellaproject.net), and Becca’s Closet (BeccasCloset.org).

Give the Gift of Sight: Breathe new life into your old eyeglasses and pass them onto one of the 1 billion people around the world who need glasses but can’t afford them. OneSight (onesight.org), New Eyes for the Needy (neweyesfortheneedy.org) and Unite for Sight (uniteforsight.org) are a few organizations that help facilitate the donation process.

Send Toys Abroad: Operation Give (operationgive.org) distributes supplies and toys to civilians in combat zones; The Orphans of War Campaign (orphansofwarcampaign.org) collects toys and soccer balls for Iraqi children who have lost their parents; Beanies for Baghdad (beaniesforbaghdad.com) sends used Beanie Babies and other toys to children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, and SAFE (Stuffed Animals for Emergencies) (stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org) collects gently used toys to be redistributed to emergency personnel and organizations to help kids cope in difficult situations.

Books For Schools: Reader to Reader (readertoreader.org) is a national organization that brings gently used (and new) books to schools and libraries in need across the United States.

Trade Some Tools: Help people become self-reliant by donating old tools to the U.K.-based Tools for Self Reliance Program (tfsr.org), or Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org) is also always looking for screwdrivers, saws, shovels and rakes.

Don’t Forget the Pets!: Pet food is easily overlooked when donating to food banks, but when people are struggling to provide for themselves, they are often struggling to provide for their pets. To find specific locations for animal food banks, head to SaveOurPetsFoodBank.org.

Freecycle: The Freecycle Network (freecycle.org) is a large community of people across the U.S. and Canada devoted to reusing items and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Everything listed on the site must be free for the taking.