Local residents can now clean out their closets, donate to a worthy charity and help keep women breast cancer-free – at the same time.
Collection bins provided by American Textile Recycling Service (ATRS) are now in place at four St. Cloud locations. ATRS collects all the clothing items, including shoes, and gets a price-perpound. The money they collect is then donated to Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation, which provides breast cancer prevention and wellness services, like mammograms, to women who cannot afford them.
Four of the bins are now open in St. Cloud, delivered Thursday – at the Dunkin and Jiffy Food at 120 and 418 13th St., the 7-11 at Old Canoe Creek and Nolte Road, and at Levee Liquor and Gas at 718 13th St.
The benefit is manyfold. Those who donate get extra closet space, ATRS is able to recycle what can’t be given away – and those clothes stay out of the landfill – and Libby’s Legacy, a 501-C3 fully funded through philanthropic efforts and grants, can help stem the spread of breast cancer.
“The clothing goes where it’s needed, and not where it’s not, and Libby’s Legacy is able to do the work they do,” said ATRS Marketing Manager Brian Papenfuss.
The connection between ATRS and Levee’s came by coincidence by way of the City of St. Cloud. ATRS sent folks like Community Relations Advocate Gary Tolley out into the city to seek out good locations for collection bins, and he was scouting out the area of 13th Street near the state streets when he stumbled onto Levee’s Liquors, last year’s St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.
Dana Wells, Levee’s owner whose name tag reads “Boss Lady,” said she jumped at the chance when Tolley came into the store to talk about the program.
“These are the small efforts we work with the city on, things we love to do,” said Wells.
The four bins went into place on Thursday – and have already created a stir, Wells said.
“My neighbor (New Creations Day Spa on Illinois Avenue) came to ask about it when they brought the bin, and started asking me what she could donate,” she said.
Libby’s Legacy partnered with ATRS shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Executive Director Tracy Harris said funding streams like what ATRS provides are crucial to its mission. About 10 percent of its operating budget comes from the ATRS program alone.
Harris also noted that during the height of the pandemic in spring of 2020, with people at home staring at closets that needed to be cleaned out, the monthly funding from ATRS was the highest it’s been.
“It was crucial for us because we couldn’t do our face-to-face fundraising events then,” she said.
In addition to providing free or low-cost mammograms and follow up breast health services to underserved and uninsured women in Central Florida, Libby’s Legacy offers cancer screenings and a Patient Advocate Liaison Service
(P.A.L.S.), a “Hope Coach” to stand with those diagnosed with cancer, to help navigate the healthcare system.
For information on Libby’s Legacy, go to libbyslegacy.org.
Businesses or others who want to host a bin can reach out to ATRS; email Tolley at gtolley@atrsonline.com.
