Redwood Gospel Mission Thrift Store – Pen Recycling Center – City Kids Festival, August 22, 2009

The Pen Guy and the Mercedes Pens Art Car City Kids Festival

Good news, the Redwood Gospel Mission Thrift Store has just agreed to become a pen recycling drop off center for the one million pen drive. There will be a two bins, one located inside the thrift store and the other one in the back were donations are dropped off. So remember, don’t just throw away all those dead ball points, dry erase and marker pens, instead recycle them along with your other donations at the Mission Thrift Store on 1064 Piner Ave. in Santa Rosa, Mon – Sat, 10 am to 6 pm.

City Kids FestivalAlice Lowe who agreed to collect pens for the Million Pen Drive is the outreach and fundraising events and is also the contact person for the City Kids Festival that will happening Saturday August 22, 2009, at Juliard Park in Santa Rosa. The City Kids Festival is an all-day outreach, primarily to needy children in Sonoma County. There will be Free backpacks and school supplies! Free books! Balloon animals, miniature golf, snow cones, face painting and much more more! Many Sonoma County churches volunteer their time and effort and money to provide the supplies for the kids and run game and food booths during the event. In 2008 1800 backpacks were given away and this year they expect more that 2000 boys and girls to attend. The event is free and open to all with no charge for the games and food. The free backpacks are given to those children who pre-register for them at RGM.They are also currently accepting donations for more school supplies needed for the City Kids Festival.

I have had the pleasure of attending this event with my Mercedes Pens now for past couple of years and plan to be there again this year hanging out as the Pen Guy. This event would also be good time for you to come out with your kids and drop off any old pens that you would love to get rid off.

Pick of the Litter Silent Auction with Debbie Abrams & Brent Farris – June 28th, 2009

Video of my trip to pick pens up from the Pick of the Litter Thrift Store

I really can’t say enough good things about Pick of the Litter, a thrift shop dedicated to getting feral cats off the streets and finding loving homes for the forgotten felines of the Santa Rosa community. They have a spay/neuter program for tame, stray cats and formerly feral kittens pulled from the wild; Then they give them the opportunity to go through “Good Samaritan” clinics. There is a nominal fee for this service, but for the most part it is subsidized through a bequest left by Jean Mekemson.

To make a long story short Pick of the Litter has has basically adopted me the Pen Guy and have now for over two years collected stray pens and given them to me for the Mercedes Pens Art Car Project. I went in there one day looking for old dead pens and now go there every couple of weeks to collect a big bag of recycled pens that would otherwise get thrown in the garbage. The video I did was on one of those days when I went to pick up some pens.

They are having a fundraiser this Sunday June 28th from 11a.m – 4p.m, called Pick of the Litter’s Rollin’ out the Red Carpet & Puttin’ on the Ritz! a Celebrity Silent Auction featuring donations by Debbie Abrams, Guy Fieri, Levi Leipheimer and Odessa Gunn “What does Debbie do?” Luxury Silent Auction. There will be Music by North of Malibu and special guests Debbie Abrams & Brent Farris of KZST. Pick of the Litter was voted Sonoma County’s Favorite Thrift Store by KZST Listeners and so KZST is promoting the event all week. Hope to see you all there, go an support a great cause, and don’t forget to bring all your old and unwatned pens.

Grace Church School – Donates Old Pens

Donated pens from Grace Church School

Last October I got an email from Dana from Grace Church School in New York City who asked me if I needed more pens. The answer was a big yes and promised that she would collect a bunch and send them over. Last Friday Dana came through and I got this wonderful box of dead pens here on my orange shag seat covers. So a great be thank you goes out to Dana who made it happen and all of you at Grace Church School, who donated your old pens.