Free Electronic Recycling Benefits Seeds of Hope

On Saturday April 5, the Grand Terrace Walgreens store at 22456 played host to a free Electronic Recycling event for local residents in their back parking lot. While most of the area’s residents dropped off old and broken televisions, old computer monitors, printers, old cell phones and other electronic waste, most were not aware that their old discards were going to help fund a donation to the organization Seeds of Hope, the benefactor of the event. Craig Raney of Grand Terrace was among the first to bring some items to the Walgreens parking lot after seeing the banner announcing the event down at by the 215 Freeway entrance. Tom Rabone and his wife Natalie of Highgrove had seen the same sign, and came to drop off an old television. Grand Terrace resident Roger Betten was on his way to a soccer game in the upper desert but stopped off first to leave some old items, too. For Gloria Gaona, Founder of Seeds of Hope shared, "it was a good feeling to see the generosity of the local community. Standing among the donated items, Gaona explained that Seeds of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting families with housing, hunger and social skills with a goal of rebuilding lives. They focus on the working poor, that is, people who work and are sometimes still unable to make ends meet. Each Friday at a site in Colton, Seeds of Hope has a food distribution that is open to the public. They also provide clothing, shoes, job skills training and perform seasonal outreaches at Thanksgiving and Christmas. “Our goal is to empower the community, not by giving them a handout, but by giving them a lift up,” said Gaona. Seeds of Hope is always looking for food donations for their Friday distributions, and would like to partner with area businesses or individuals who may want to donate items or their time to help the organization reach goals for the community members. If you would like more information about Seeds of Hope, please contact them at seedsofhopeoutreach@yahoo.com.