This Friday will be the start of the heaviest shopping weekend of the year. People rush to get the best deals they can find and they will find plenty. Some will upgrade their DVDs to Blu-rays. Old games will be left on the shelf as gamers go for the new releases. The stack of old trade paperback comics will grow higher as readers opt for the latest collections or go for digital versions. So what happens to the old DVDs, video games, and comic books? Usually, they’ll be forgotten, sold on eBay, or traded in for store credit. But this is a time of year where we should not only give to our friends and family, but to those who would greatly appreciate the entertainment we no longer use.
As a volunteer working in the Family Library at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, I can tell you our selection of movies, video games, and comic books would be cherished more than you can know. While we treat this entertainment as a fun diversion, to patients and their families it’s a needed comfort and distraction. Hit the jump for details on how you can donate and help not only children and families this holiday season but for years to come.
You can donate your used movies, games, and books by sending them to:
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Family Library
1405 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30322
Please note the following:
For movies, the family library accepts films rated from G to PG-13 and TV series rated TV-Y to TV-14. The library can only accept DVDs because the patient rooms don’t have Blu-ray players.
For video games, the family library accepts games rated E to T. However, please use your best judgment when donating a Rated-T game. A game like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is fine, but a game like Batman: Arkham City is too dark and violent for most of the kids that come to the library.
All children's and teen books are welcome, but I mention comic books in particular because I know a lot of comic book geeks read the site and the family library has almost no comics or manga.
If you would like a receipt, please include a note requesting one, and write down the address where you would like us to send it.
And of course the family library will happily accept new DVDs, video games, and books. It's important to note that the Family Library works like a library. Everything is a rental so you're not just helping one family this holiday season. You're helping countless families for years to come.
Again, I can’t stress how much these donations will mean to the patients and their families. If you can see your way to not selling your used DVDs, video games, and books and instead donating them to the Family Library at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, it would be truly wonderful thing to do this holiday season.
If you would like to learn more about Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, please click here.
Also, please consider supporting other charities as well. We recommend:
We thank you so much for taking the time to read this article and we hope that you'll tweet it, e-mail it, and Facebook share it with people you know.