Richland Collegiate High School Graduate Finds a Better Way to Help Others
Contact: Debra Dennis ddennis@dcccd.edu; 214-378-1851
For immediate release — Jan. 10, 2017
(DALLAS) — Andrew Ydoyaga wondered what to do with the well-meaning but leftover gift cards he had received from family and friends.
Gift cards are a great holiday gift, but like Ydoyaga, most recipients leave a balance — wasting billions of dollars annually in unredeemed funds. Gift cards, the most requested presents, often are lost or just tucked away and never spent.
“Most of us will see that small remaining balance as worthless,” said Ydoyaga, 19. But he had another idea. Unused gift cards, he said, could be put to good use.
As a student in the Richland Collegiate High School Senior Capstone Project, Ydoyaga decided to launch a nonprofit: GiftCards4Change.org. The nonprofit site liquidates gift cards and donates that money to charities. “It’s a new way of giving back,” said Ydoyaga, who finished his last class at Richland in fall 2016 and plans to transfer to a university this year.
Gift Cards 4 Change Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Dallas. Its mission is to collect remaining balance gift cards to help improve the lives of people and communities in need. “Gift cards can change lives,” Ydoyaga said. “Your balance can feed and clothe children. It can give shelter and food to the homeless, provide medication to children and the elderly, or help a domestic violence victim find a safe place.”
People who are adversely affected by hardships are helped by a caring community, he said.
Donations are tax deductible. Individuals also can donate directly to the organization using PayPal.
GiftCards4Change.org is seeking partnerships with child advocacy groups as well as organizations that assist the homeless and fight human trafficking and hunger. Ydoyaga also is asking companies to match donated amounts.
A lot of people are sleeping on money. Ydoyaga hopes to awaken them.
For more information or to make a donation, visit: GiftCards4Change.org.
