Collect old used stamps for the tiniest animals - Buglife

Love them or loathe them, we all need the tiniest animals on the planet.  They are essential to all our well-being.   We all depend on them.

And there's a charity working to conserve all our bugs, from bees to beetles, worms to woodlice and jumping spiders to jellyfish.  It's called Buglife.

Invertebrates, say Buglife, underpin life on earth.  Every species has its place in the eco-system.  Without invertebrates, the world's ecosystems would collapse.   But invertebrates - like so many species - are facing an extinction crisis.   Around the world, 150,000 species could vanish by 2050 unless something is done to stop the rot.

Like so many species, once a species is extinct, that's that.  You can't bring them back.   Buglife are working to halt the extinction of so many invertebrate species  by promoting awareness of their environmental importance and raising awareness of the challenges these species face. The charity is also helping develop legislation and policy to ensure their conservation.  They spread knowledge about how to conserve them, and support and encourage conservation initiatives in the UK and elsewhere   They also run projects to help contribute towards stopping the extinction of so many species.

So your stamps can help Buglife do all these things.    Cut the stamp from the used envelope (don't damage the stamp in the process).  When you've got a good number of them, pop them in an envelope to:

Buglife
PO Box 16992
Sutton Coldfield
BY3 9YA

Please ensure you put enough postage on your parcel or envelope of stamps  

One other thought - which Buglife ask us to do - is to change our view of invertebrates.   They are a vital part of the food chain, being food for other animals.   So unless they cause damage, Buglife ask that we let them be.

You can also help at home, by gardening to help invertebrates.   Find out more here

Help orangutans with your used stamps

Did you know that you can help orangutans by collecting used postage stamps and sending them off to the Orangutan Foundation?

About the Orangutan Foundation

The Foundation's mission is "to save orangutans by protecting their tropical forest habitat, working with local communities and promoting research and education."   It has worked in Indonesia for over 20 years so it has a great deal of experience and understanding of the area.

Priority is given to long-term programmes which combine conservation activities with community development.   Many local people live nearby the areas of orangutan habitat so they need to be involved in conservation efforts if they are to be effective in the long term.

According to the Orangutan Foundation's website, its challenges for the future are to

1. Ensure protected areas remain protected
2. Create new conservation areas to protect all critical wild orangutan populations
3. Help mitigate climate change by preventing deforestation
4. Secure long-term funding for valuable orangutan habitat

How to help...

There are a number of ways you can help the Foundation achieve its mission and meet its challenges.

Volunteer, become a member, send a donation, adopt an orangutan, buy something from the gift shop - and send your stamps in!

You can send your stamps to:

The Orangutan Foundation

7 Kent Terrace

London

NW1 4RP

England 

Head to the Orangutan Foundation's website for more information here

The PDSA are collecting stamps

The PDSA helps vets treats sick and injured pets around the UK.  In 2015, the charity celebrates 98 years of caring for the sick and injured animals of people in need.  And last year it helped 470,000 pets in need.

The charity's mission is "To care for the pets of people in need by providing free veterinary services to their sick and injured animals and promoting responsible pet ownership."

You can visit the PDSA's page here to see if your pet is eligible for their care.  You may also find their advice pages helpful.

You can send your used stamps to:

PDSA Charity Stamps Support
41 Buckingham Avenue
Penwortham
Preston
PR1 9HG

Companies can donate their used postage stamps too - visit the PDSA's website to find out what to do!  And click here to find out how else you can help.

Help horses by collecting stamps, jewellery, old or new banknotes & coins

The White Horse Stables in East Sussex have just under 30 horses and ponies in their care, all rescue. 

Many of the horses and ponies are available for loan on working livery at the centre, or sponsorship or adoption.  And some are available for permanent re-homing.  You can see the horses on their Equine Profiles page

Collect used postage stamps which must be unsorted, on a single sheet of paper (the front of the envelope) and trimmed with a approximately a 1/4" of paper around each one. Send your collected stamps to:-

White Horse Stables -Horse Rescue (Charity No. 1060620)
Fords Farm
HORSEY
Norfolk
NR29 4EP

You can also recycle your unwanted items into a donation for the horses and ponies - items such as unwanted jewellery, gold, silver or costume jewellery, old or new foreign or UK banknotes and coins.

You can send them by Freepost to:-

White Horse Stables - Horse Rescue (Charity No 1060620).
FREEPOST
LICENCE RSXA-GJBY-ARRZ
Tamworth
B77 4RP

For more details on how you can help care for these horses and ponies, click here and go to their Fundraising page

Take a look at the wonderful work the charity is doing on their website

Help donkeys by collecting stamps

The Devon-based Donkey Sanctuary would be very happy to receive used postage stamps, both international and UK. The Sanctuary works worldwide to help care for and treat donkeys and educate the public (most specifically owners and children) in all aspects of donkey care.

The charity has free educational programmes and mobile clinics running in Egypt, Ethiopia, Mexico, India and Kenya, and also it has set up sanctuaries in Spain and Italy. 

The Donkey Sanctuary has cared for over 12,000 donkeys in its lifetime. And a good number of the donkeys who come into rescue often find themselves with second careers, visiting elderly people in residential homes or working with children with special needs.

You can find out more about the Donkey Sanctuary here - and if you are able to, the Sanctuary is always looking for people to foster donkeys. 

And please send your stamps to The Donkey Sanctuary (Used Stamps), Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU. Thank you! The charity asks that you send large bundles of stamps to save on postage and packing.

And an update in January 2015:  Yes, the Donkey Sanctuary is still collecting used postage stamps, so please send your stamps to the address in the paragraph above, marking the envelope Used Stamps.  Please also remember to put enough postage on when you send them, thanks :-)