Hi everyone, I want to let you know about a new outdoors-related
charity I have started in New York City.

It's called The Gear Bank. Check it out he www.thegearbank.org.

The idea is to gather winter-appropriate outdoor gear that people no
longer need and distribute it to the homeless population of New York
City, which now numbers 37,000 and growing. We've just gotten rolling
and are going to see how it goes this year. If anyone lives in the New
York area, we hope you will come to the launch party on Dec. 9th, 2006,
which will be held in Brooklyn. Admission to the party is a gear
donation, or $20.

The best way to support The Gear Bank is to come to the party! On the
site, find addresses for making donations from out-of-the-area.

I'm a journalist. This is a volunteer effort. We're hoping to tap into
what we think is a huge potential pool of donors in order to help make
the winter less harsh for some of our fellow New Yorkers. Please
consider donating some of the warm and rugged gear you have stashed in
the closet, never to be used again. We are strictly non-profit and have
coordinated with The Salvation Army and NY Cares to distribute all the
donations.

Please feel free to spread the word to other relevant user groups
online.

And hope to see you at the party!

Regards,

THE GEAR BANK
Christian DeBenedetti (organizer)
www.thegearbank.org