Dubai: When it comes to charity, every bit counts. Even if it means donating used stamps.
A Dubai-based volunteer has teamed up with the UK's Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to raise funds for those who are blind or partially sighted.
"While the RNIB works within the UK to help the visually-impaired, they invest in research, too, which ultimately helps people around the world," said Sally Prosser, a volunteer for the RNIB.
The British expatriate and mother of two has taken it upon herself to collect the used stamps and help the RNIB. The response from UAE residents, as well as international donors, has been encouraging.
However, Prosser knew how difficult organising collections are, having gone around her neighbourhood in the UK as an eight-year-old, asking people to save milk bottle tops for a charity. Yet she manages to dispatch sets of used stamps every six months, which are then sold to agents or stamp collectors. Overseas stamps, like those from the UAE, are sold at around £12 (Dh66) per kilogram. If the stamps are rare, they are identified and sold separately for a higher price.
"When I started, people were very generous and many sent me their entire stamp collections. The packages have thinned since," Prosser said.
Schools
Speaking of the increasing use of e-mail for correspondence, Prosser said: "Stamps have become a little bit rarer in our daily lives, but we do receive post, even today. The stamps on them can just be snipped off and collected to help the blind. It feels great, costs nothing and is very easy to do."
With the holiday season having ended, Prosser felt there would be many used stamps to donate.
"There are some beautiful stamps that are made within the UAE, and it is fantastic to look at a good collection."
Prosser has spread the word through a blog, a Facebook group and by approaching several schools, with pupils getting involved in stamp-collection drives. The international courier service TNT has agreed to send the stamps to the UK free of charge.
"Every stamp counts. Recycling stamps is just another tiny way to save the planet. I'd really love for the next parcel to be a really big one."
She added that people can also volunteer directly with the RNIB (www.rnib.org.uk).
People can send stamps to Sally Prosser at:
Save stamps for charity
P. O. Box 75959
Dubai, U.A.E.
