I thought I’d share something that means a lot to me with you. Once a week I teach a basic financial literacy class at a domestic violence shelter in my area. The shelter is a temporary home for women and their children who are in crisis and have escaped from their abuser.
In spite of the horrors that these women deal with they still find the strength and courage to come to my class. Their desire to better their lives and the lives of their children outweighing everything else. It’s a humbling experience for me. It’s a reminder of just how fortunate I am to have a loving supportive family, a roof over my head and food on the table.
Tonight is our last class together for 2010. Thanks to this little coupon habit of mine I was able to spend the afternoon putting together goody bags for all my participants. Those 8/$1 Christmas sacks filled with lotions, lip balms, tweezers, band-aids, nail polish, chocolate, candles, whatever I could find in my stockpile I thought they might enjoy. It’s not much, but it’s one very small thing I can do to show them I care. Couponing lets me do things for others I couldn’t afford to do otherwise. And I know that is the case for many of you too.
How does couponing allow you the opportunity to help others this holiday season? I can tell by your comments just how generous a group you all are. What are some of the ways that couponing allows you to give back? By sharing our ideas we can help others who want to give back too! 🙂
(*If you’d like to learn more about how to help victims of domestic violence you can visit The Domestic Violence Hotline HERE.)
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
i have only been couponing for about 6 months but so far i have been able to take about 3 boxes full of food and 3 boxes of tolietries to the salvation army-and my mothers bible study groupo adopted a family for christmas so the stuff i have now will be going to them-couldnt do it without the help of all the coupon bloggers out there-thanks christie
Before I had to relocate to Pensacola for my husband’s military duites, I worked for a domestic violence center in Gainesville, Florida for abouut three years. Thank you so much for your service to your local agency – survivors of domestic violence have always shown me to be some of the strongest people amongst us, and I know that your gifts to them will mean so much!
To other readers – often, your own county will have a local DV center. Anytime you buy items that are free, cheap, or moneymakers and don’t have a real use for them, espeially hygiene or food items, consider donating it to them – it goes a long way! Also, it may not seem like it, but many centers often have a need for men’s items as well – either because they have receiving services at their center, or they have survivor’s with male adolescents with them. If your teen boys or partners have unwanted men’s clothing, this is another items that we always seemed to be low on!
Thank you again, Christie, for your service and your work on the site – you are very much appreciated by all of us. Happy Holidays!
Every year I help my Mother in Law put together baskets for families in need. We gather clothing and toys but we also make baskets up that contain health & beauty items like body wash, shampoo, soap and more. Thanks to your site our baskets were really fabulous this year! Thanks so much for all you do- you are amazing! Thanks Christie- keep up the good work! 🙂
My daughter and I were able to make up three big bags for some families in need at our church. We thought if they didn’t have to worry about the day to day necessities, they might be able to buy a little Christmas. Thanks Christie for helping me make it possible.
This is good to know. Makes me like you even more! ;D
Since following your tips on Facebook, I’ve been able to get many more free or almost free items to fill shoeboxes for “Operation Christmas Child”. I’ve also been able to get FREE/cheap items for home and for gifts – Christmas, teachers, mail carrier!
Thank you for all you do. I never went to Walgreens before I “met” you.
a few months ago I brought a car loaded with food and toiletries to the local food pantry. The lady in charge was excited to see items other than food…soap, shampoo, tampons, razors, laundry detergent, she was going to bring them to the homeless shelter. She said that people don’t usually donate that kind of stuff.
For Christmas I sent my two sisters big boxes full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc. There are 8 people at one house and 7 at the other, they really appreciated that.
I just did the same thing for a domestic violence shelter here in the Dallas area! I was thinking that the women could use some pampering, and I have just the stockpile to help them do that!
I am a single Mom and I would not have basic items for my family if I didn’t use coupons and shop sales. I love to give to others. I recently gave toiletries and canned goods to our troops. Once a month I drop off donations at my church for toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and soap. These go to a needy family in the congregation. I’m so glad that you help the women at the shelter. A bag of goodies is a blessing to them, I am sure. 🙂
Great idea, Christie! Since I have been an extreme couponer (for a little over a year now) I regularly donate to a few shelters and food pantries where I live now and in the town where I grew up (about an hour away from where I live now). It seems that the personal hygeine items are always a hit because most people do not donate those kind of items. There is an organization that provides kids with coats, gloves, jeans, etc.. to kids in need. The organization holds an auction each year. This year I donated a mens basket full of razors, shaving cream, body wash, shampoo, etc… I didn’t have much time so it was only 1 small basket. It sold for $40 and I only spent $3 for all of the items in the basket! Next year I plan on making a bigger basket and a womens basket, as well. I just thought I would share another idea on how to use your stockpile. I am sure there are other organizations that have auctions that could benefit from personal care baskets, as well!
This is my first year couponing. Though we are starving students with three small kids (with 6 years left of school!), I was able to stockpile enough of the necessities to be able to donate a ton of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream, and stuff to our local homeless shelter. It is not just a regular homeless shelter, this one specializes in helping homeless families. It makes me heart hurt to think of moms and kids without the basic things we take for granted. Now, when I come home with an arm full of toothpaste, my husband doesn’t say a word. He knows it is going to people who are in need.
I am so grateful to you for all your help with coupons. I am on dialysis and am very lucky to have a husband with a great job and great insurance. It is still tough but with couponing I find myself continually looking for way to give away my stockpile. It is so fun and give me something to look forward to everyday I get up. I sit on dialysis and figure out my gameplan for the day what store to stop at on the way home an score some deals. I put together care packages for other patients that I know are making it from moment to moment and need every little bit of toilet paper and chocolate I can give them. I throw in some dog food for their animals or a few boxes of cereal. I am so grateful for all you do.
I live in an area where there is a large community of new immigrants. I have been fortunate enough to use my couponing skills and help from great sites like yours to make welcome packages throughout the year for these soon-to-be-new U.S. citizens. Although they get some government assistance, it is heartwarming to be able to supply some bonus items like makeup and toys occassionally. Thanks again for all you do!
As a mother of 2 special needs sons, at Christmas, my husband and I find a family to adopt who has a special needs child also. These families are most of the time single moms (not always) that can’t even afford to buy an extra tube of toothpaste, (the ones I have met anyway) By couponing all year, my family is able to supply the adopted family with almost everything. What a wonderful feeling to see their crying faces, so appreciative, yes they are. My heart explodes. I know the struggles they go through year round. I wouldn’t be able to do this if I didn’t coupon. Now that I have just cleared out alot of my stock, it’s a feeling of excitement that I’ll be doing my couponing and building up my stock next year for the next family next Christmas along with my own of course.
Thank you so much for everything you do to make our shopping experience exciting and rewarding. Merry Christmas to all fellow couponers. Debbie P.
My son’s second grade class is donating items to a local Vet hospital for the holidays. I was able to go through my stockpile and donate full-size items of body wash, toothpaste, razors ect. for our veterans who are recovering here in California. All the second graders wrote letters to the veterans. The teacher had sent a letter home telling the parents to go to the dollar store to buy any items, but I know I paid less then dollar store prices and I was able to give more. It gave me a good feeling knowing that my coupon “skills” can help others who need it more than I do.
I don’t have much time to write but I did want to comment! I am also a single mom and started couponing a little over a year ago. I now have my stockpile and am also able to donate! I usually donate to my local Battered Womens Shelter. But I did want to say…keep in mind that this shelter is NOT only for women! They do have some men too! And not only that, but some of them, men and women, have boys in their teens. So they do also need items for the males. They are so appreciative! Not only are you helping families, but it sure makes you feel darn good! Especially during the holiday season! Merry Christmas to All and have a safe New Years! Look forward to saving even more next year! Nicole ~ Ohio
Congratulations Christie..!!! I’m glad to hear that you as a head of this blog are leading by example.
I have been couponing for about 3mos and I can’t tell you how my life and my family life has changed. After my husband lost his corporate job we pretty much lost everything and I mean everything we were used to a certain lifestyle that we no longer could afford it was hard to adjust to the new life no more luxuries we used to buy or groceries in WholeFoods we ended up buying at the .99 store. just a few months ago I came across with a article in the newspaper about extreme couponing so I decided to visit the blog’s address and that is how everything started.
From having just 1 toothpaste tube for the whole month to having close to 30. I still have the same money but I’m able to do more. I gave my mom a big box full of groceries and toiletries and the best part is that I was able to take 4 big boxes to my local food bank here in houston.
That make me feel so good because I was able to share my blessing with others.
I would also like to mention I have found many people that tried to abuse the system and don;t use coupons in a ethic way and this have a an impact in all of us from the ones that do it as a hobby to the ones that do it out of necessity. Lets be honest when we use our coupons so we can extend the life of savings as we currently know it!
MERRY X-mas to you all
You are so Fabulous!
We donate lots of toiletry items to a local women’s shelter here in Las Vegas, Shade Tree. It has been nice to share lots more item this year than in the past due to your great tips and shopping lists. Thank you for everything!
I have been seriously couponing for about a year now. Our Sunday School class “adopted” 3 teenage girls for Christmas this year. I was able to gather shampoo, conditioner, lotion, razors, shaving cream, body wash, toothpaste, a toothbrush, floss & more (all full sizes) for these girls. What a blessing!!
I have been donating to the food bank attached to our church this year baby items as this is something they do not receive a lot of.
How fun! Last year at Christmas, my stockpile enabled me (along with a few piles of jingle cash from doing tons of deals) to arrange for a Christmas shop and wrap for the kids in our church youth group! It is a small group, but it was a ton of fun! Each kid was allowed to shop for about 4 people of their choice from razors and shaving cream, candles, nail polish, body washes, key rings..similar to your goodie bags..and some other things. They then wrapped the gifts! We also took their photo, printed it right then and put the photos in photo cards (clearance from Target) as a gift to their parents/caregiver/whomever! I could NEVER have done it without couponing. This year I was asked if I could do it again! So thank you God, there was another abundance of deals this year and the BOGO $6.99 toys has filled in the blanks for another shop and wrap. I’ll try to get some pics to share with you all! Thanks for all you do, I love Wild for Wags! Happy Christmas everyone!
I love my bathroom stockpile. Last year, my women’s group at church supported a project called “Pack a Purse” which gives gently used purses to women who are leaving prison. The purses are filled with items since the women only get $10 when they leave and generally don’t have anyone to pick them up or anywhere to go. I would go thru each purse and add a lot of items that were needed: toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, floss, tampons, pads, lipstick, makeup, and just full those purses til they busted!
We also have a food pantry at our church and our Sunday School class is responsible for hygeine items, which tend to be the more expensive items, but with my coupons and WAGS purchases, I got a lot of stuff for free.
I donate LOTS of food to our local foodshelf. They are always grateful…
Couponing is why I can give family, friends, and the less fortunate. I once knew a pastor who after getting out of debt would bless people with $100. Well, I now pull together $100 worth of items and I go out and bless a neighbor, friend, or family with it. It’s absolutely refreshing.
Couponing is an addiction for me. Most of the stuff I get for cheap or free, I don’t really need or want: I get it for the sheer thrill of the deal. Once I bring my loot home, I stockpile it until the end of the month when I make my monthly trek over to the local women’s shelter to donate it. They get tons of toothpaste, razors, diapers, bath soap, shampoo and more because of my addiction. I feel like at least I can give back in some small way and it gives me a bigger rush than going to a casino.
Christie, thank you so much for sharing this and bringing attention to the big purple elephant in the room. Domestic Violence (DV) and Sexual Assault (SA) is the purple elephant in the room that everyone sees, but no one wants to address. I am an Outreach Counselor Advocate at our local DV Shelter and anytime I can share some education about this is great, but I love seeing others share info and stories as well. I too teach an economic empowerment class at our shelter in which we talk about couponing as a way to save money. Those who want to take a trip to Wags, CVS or where ever with me to see how to save money in the flesh is more than welcome. Once the ladies see how much money they can save, they are in shock. I too give items to the ladies at the shelter because there are many things we don’t have in our budget to buy, like cold meds. Can you guess where most of my day and nyquil went?? 🙂 My couponing has allowed me to help other co-workers as well. Just this last weekend, one of my co-workers home caught fire and she lost everything! I just kept thinking about how it would feel to start all over with nothing…I spoke to my husband and we talked about giving her some funds and items from our stock pile. I know it wasn’t much, but I put a toiletry bag together and gave her some cash and a gift card, it’s great to have these items laying around to help out my friends and family. I couldn’t have done any of this with out the bloggers like you, Totally Target and a couple of others. You have spent so much time helping others like me save money and then paying it forward by helping others. Thank you so much for all you do!!!!
I love being able to donate so much more thanks to couponing. Like Lynn mentioned in a previous comment, I have a big enough stockpile of food and tolietries for my family, but I just can’t stop getting the deals! I have plastic storage drawers in my bathroom and designate 1 drawer for each type of item (toothpaste/brush, shampoo, body wash/lotions etc.) Once the drawer is full I donate the rest to a variety of non-profits in my area. One thing I started doing more recently is asking what specific items are really needed when I drop off donations. Last month, when I dropped off some baby items at a shelter I asked what they needed and they had trouble getting bigger size diapers so now I make a point in purchasing those. The other big thing that is mentioned a lot is men’s products. The last thing I do regularly, which I think someone else also mentioned, is donating items for fundraisers. This week I donated 2 huge baskets full of tolietries and 1 full of cleaning/household products each having over $100 worth of merchadise to my sister’s church for an auction they had.
It’s important for me to mention that I would not be able to do this without your help, Christie! The time you take daily to help us out is priceless. I would be donating far less if not for you!
First, I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put into this site.
My couponing helps me shop for my mother and mother in law. I recently donated to a family who’s house burnt down the other day. I gave them a huge portion of my stockpile, but hey, it will soon be re-stocked =]
This year I was able to buy presents for everybody, which I couldn’t do before.
I’m just helping my cousin start couponing.
Once again, thank you for everything.
Happy Holidays!!!!
Nearly free toys starting Wed.
Buy active on for $7.99
Buy goodies hair for $2.00
Buy halmark money cards for $4.00
Buy wags energy boosters for $3.00
Buy 2 toys for 6.99 b1g1 for $6.99
Buy something for $1.02
Get back 8.00 RR, 2.00 RR, $4.00 RR, $3.00 RR and $5.00 SJC
Hi Christie, I have been donating my stockpile to many family members who have been out of a job for a couple of months now, and also to others who have recently married you know it’s hard to move out on your own sometimes, and finally I’ve donated to my church and to my son’s school they picked up donations around Thanksgiving.
I am able to cook extra and give it to people who need a lift. I am throwing a party for sixty people and managed to buy everything and stay within 10 dollars of our regular budget by spreading it out. We re also sending someone some work who needs it, and surprising a small someone with a box of presents.
I’ve been couponing only a few months and have already been able to donate glucometers to a free clinic, fill shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, donate to a few families in need, take items to the homeless shelter and ship a box of toiletries to a group of soldiers in Iraq. Thanks so much for all that you do that enables us to get great bargians that not only help our families but so many folks out there a lot less fortunate!
Due to this site and several others I’ve purchased many items this year and got them free or very inexpensive. I donate them to my church’s food pantry. Bet they wonder where all the contact solution is coming from – CVS had a run on it free for several weeks this year. But it’s a blessing to give to others. I am collecting items for Operation Christmas Child (the shoeboxes) so I can do more than the 2 I did this year. My goal is 10 next year so hope Wags & CVS keeps the good deals coming! Thanks everyone and Merry Christmas!
My kids & I have been stockpiling for about a month for a community center near our house that serves low income familes/children. We filled the entire back of our station wagon/back seat with tons of food & toys and delivered it yesterday. Pre-coupon days the grand total would have been about $550 and there is no way I could have spent that on a donation. With coupons & sales, I spent less than $50! Thank you for all of your helpful information!
I was able to help Srynga House in Idaho. It is a girls group home for girls that have been in trouble (usually because of problems at home) They are sent here instead of jail or juvenile detention. They have school and are mentored. I was able to to put together for 13 current residents ages 11-17 a package containing mascara, a full size lotion, toothbrush and toothpaste. Also had enough shampoo and conditioner samples. It feels good to be able to help out. Also provided cleaning supplies to the local DV shelter.
I was so excited about last week’s sale on Walgreens Brand Diapers that (after I got about a dozen packs for my kids) I picked up four packs of Newborn size for the local Emergency Maternity Shelter. Their web site has a wish list so I’m going through my stash to put together a big box of stuff to take over to them. Another thing they ask for is hair relaxer kits. Got some of those! 🙂 Thank you for all your hard work, Christie. Couldn’t do this without you.
Christie-You are amazing.