Thursday, January 3, 2008

Those forgotten stacks of DVDs and CDs spilling from your shelves (and onto the floor?) can be fresh entertainment for a wider audience. Walter Reed Army Medical Center, for example, welcomes donations of music and movies to help wounded soldiers pass the time during recovery. Twenty-something males make up the majority of the population there, says Steve Maguire, director of the Soldier Family Assistance Center: "Pop, rock, R&B and country are among the most popular genres." Among DVDs, he says, Arnold Schwarzenegger action flicks are always in high demand.

Donations can be mailed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center Soldier Family Assistance Center, Attention: Donations, Room 2Z91, 6900 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20307. To donate in person, call 202-782-7811 or 202-356-1012, Ext. 40706.

VHS and cassette tapes are of little use because soldiers view movies and listen to music on portable devices that will not accommodate tapes. But these items can be donated to organizations such as Goodwill of Greater Washington.

Goodwill sells donated items at its stores and online. Profits provide job training and employment services for the disadvantaged and disabled. Brendan Hurley, Goodwill's senior vice president, says books on tape and vinyl records are hot sellers. For hours at the nine donation sites throughout the region, go to http://www.dcgoodwill.org or call 202-636-4225.

Jura Koncius