Lancaster native runs worldwide gifting group

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By Tamaria L. Kulemeka
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
January 15, 2006

LANCASTER - A Lancaster native is empowering more than 1.8 million people around the world to take their trash and make it someone else's treasure.

Deron Beal, founder of The Freecycle Network, has created the world's largest nonprofit "gifting" organization.

Freecycle members post items they want to get rid of on the Internet, and others respond based on their needs. There's absolutely no money involved. Think of it as a free version e-Bay. Members make arrangements to pick up items rather than mailing then. The concept of reusing items kept 100 million pounds - or nearly 8 million items - out of the nation's landfills in 2005, Beal said. . . . Read more