For members of the Facebook group Buy Nothing Marblehead, the old adage one man’s trash is another man’s treasure rings true… but there is much more to the group. Buy Nothing provides a sense of community and works to build relationships — virtual and otherwise. One member even said the group is where dreams come true.
The Buy Nothing project is an international network whose mission is to give, receive, share and show gratitude in hyper-local communities. One of the Buy Nothing Marblehead (BNM) administrators helped start the local group eight years ago as a platform that reduces waste in landfills and provides those who join items they need while building community.
“It’s about that connection to neighbors,” BNM administrator Pam Robbins said. “People are giving away something they really kind of like and giving it to someone who will like it and care for it like they did.”
Robbins spoke of painted dressers, antique Amish quilts and even chicken soup leftovers from a chicken soup recipe being given away.
“Sometimes people have houseguests and there are things leftover when they leave and they don’t want to throw them away,” Robbins said. Of course, knowing the member who gives away cooked chicken helps even a few years post pandemic.
“The other day someone cooked chili and had too much leftover for their family and offered it to the group. It’s nice to be nice,” she said, adding that gratitude and kindness are key to the group.
The items still in good condition but no longer wanted by some BNM members have helped many people furnish and decorate their homes and stocked grandparents’ homes with countless toys, all while helping donors clean out their houses. As the name implies, nothing is for sale, it is all free.
Member Kera Dalton is grateful for the generosity to the refugees she helps as they relocate to the area.
“Buy Nothing has been great,” Dalton said. “At one point we had a family who needed a couch, and we got three offers for a couch,” adding she has also received furniture, clothes and car seats for the families.
“People have been wonderful. The families are always telling me to thank people. They are very appreciative.”
Sometimes, the Buy Nothing community offers more than Dalton requests, she said, noting the extreme generosity.
“Most of what they have in their apartments has come from Buy Nothing,” adding she has also been gifted hats, mittens, gloves and other warm clothing for the families, many of whom aren’t prepared for our cold weather.
Jim Trick is one member who has given away everything from “green beans to guitars.” He was given a number of guitars recently and within 15 minutes of posting on BNM, four people had new guitars. Trick called BNM “social media at its best,” showing the heart of the community.
“It brings people from our community together,” he said. “BNM is like “The Waltons” or Mayberry on steroids.”
While Trick was raised in Haverhill, he has been a Marbleheader for over 20 years and says his heart is deep in the town.
“I can’t believe we get to live here, and we get free stuff!” he said, giving a nod to BNM.
Buy Nothing Marblehead has proven crucial for refugee families as noted by Dalton, as well as for people seeking medical supplies, baby products, exercise equipment, art supplies and so much more. Robbins said some members give the gift of self, which truly goes to the mission of building community relationships. Trick is one of those people. In the good weather he posts about his upcoming impromptu concerts at Crocker Park where he will grab his guitar and entertain the crowd. Robbins added that some members of BNM post asking if anyone has the talent and time to teach their grandchild to sew or learn to play the video game Minecraft and members respond positively.
Members also help each other with simple kitchen items. Trick recalled the time he was moved to post that “Buy Nothing Marblehead is where dreams come true.” It was all thanks to the gift of a salad spinner.
“I was swimming in a sea of soggy salad,” he remembered. That all changed when a donor answered his call for a salad spinner. “Things are really starting to turn around,” he said with a laugh.
BNM even delivered on a 1979 Marblehead High School yearbook recently with the recipient posting that the gift reflected “the spirit of the group.”
More than 4,000 members make up Buy Nothing Marblehead, creating over 1,100 posts last month, building community and gifting what people no longer want or need to those who will hopefully treasure it. As Jim Trick would say, for some it’s where dreams come true.
