CFC/UNITED WAY #8164

Stamps for a Living

Members working in “Stamps for a Living” earn money by categorizing, packaging and marketing used stamps that are then sold to stamp collectors. The stamps are collected by churches, businesses, organizations and individuals across North America and sent to The United Church in D.C., who then distributes them to Deaf-REACH. This program is a collaboration with St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and is supported by Bethel-St. Elizabeth’s Foundation of America, Inc.

Participating members are motivated by their paycheck to do the work and subsequently learn valuable lessons about employment. They each work 10 hours a week in two-hour shifts. The long-range objective is to transition members into gainful employment in the greater community.

The idea for “Stamps for a Living” originated in Bethel, Germany, a large non-profit agency that houses and employs people who are mentally ill and/or disabled. In 1996, Mark Melanson, an occupational therapist at St. Elizabeth’s, went to Bethel, Germany, to research the possibility of establishing a similar stamp program at St. Elizabeth’s. Two years later, the Bethel Foundation hosted Sarah Brown, Deaf-REACH’s Executive Director, to experience Bethel. After her tour and several meetings later, “Stamps for a Living” found a home in the forensic unit at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and at Deaf-REACH.

The long-term program goal is to become a thriving self-sufficient business. “Stamps for a Living” has already earned over $1000 without any marketing. The next steps will be to network among philatelic organizations, such as small stamp clubs, in the area and to advertise in stamp collectors’ books, magazines and deaf publications.

You can help support Deaf-REACH members with a quick, easy activity of your own. Simply save mail that has non-holiday and non-self-stick stamps, cut off the stamps, and mail them to Deaf-REACH. If you have children in school, you might organize a team competition among classmates to see who can bring in the most stamps. Or, ask your co-workers, fellow club members, etc., to collect their stamps. Without much effort, you can make “Stamps for a Living” a success and provide income and job training for our members.

This job training program also has a button maker which allows us to place stamps, group logos, photos and promotional activities on buttons at low cost. They tend to be popular items for people attending conferences as a way of identifying them as participants and also for event committee members as a way of honoring their work. If you are interested in purchasing stamps or custom made buttons, please contact Lorre Weinstock at Lweinstock@deaf-reach.org or 202-832-6681.