CUPERTINO, Calif., July 19, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- SwapThing.com, the leader in online swapping, invites schools and other nonprofits to post their needs on SwapThing through the site's ShareThing Nonprofit Program.
"Many people want to give, but find it hard to make a match between their donation and the school or nonprofit that needs it. Smaller nonprofits don't have the resources to maintain an electronic wish list and are looking for effective ways to reach a wider audience," says Jessica Hardwick, CEO and Founder of SwapThing.
ShareThing enables individuals to donate to local and national nonprofits by utilizing the commercial application of SwapThing to access wish lists and donate directly. The ShareThing program provides a platform for the donation of items, services, volunteer hours, or cash. Registration for SwapThing is free. SwapThing believes in building strong communities so there is never any charge for either the nonprofit or the donating parties.
ShareThing helps users donate directly to public schools as well as nonprofit private schools. The ShareThing program provides a great way for teachers and program leaders to easily communicate their needs to the community. Teachers may post a list of items needed for classes, science projects, art projects, music/band development, sports programs and more. Families, small businesses and service providers can easily help out. It's never been easier to communicate classroom needs directly to people who are seeking ways to give back.
The idea of SwapThing was conceived when Hardwick used barter as a means of caring for a sick cat she had adopted from a rescue shelter. "It was a natural progression to add ShareThing when we realized that our product could easily benefit nonprofits," she says. "We may be a small bootstrap company, but we are also members of the community and wanted to contribute to making the world a better place."
About SwapThing
SwapThing enables the trade and barter of any combination of items and services between consumers and small businesses, using cash to offset unequal exchanges. SwapThing offers free registration and listing, with transaction fees of $1.00 for each exchange of goods, no matter how many items are in the swap. Unlike competitors, SwapThing is barter-based as opposed to auction-based, allowing completely private, one-on-one negotiations. The SwapThing search engine matches items offered to items wanted, a unique system of direct exchange between users, and a rating system to build trustworthiness. Based in Cupertino, CA, SwapThing also enables the creation and joining of SwapCircles to build strong communities and social networks for traders of like interests. http://www.swapthing.com