In 1996 Friends World Committee for Consultation proposed a Quaker Missions Project. Postage stamps would be clipped from mail with the intent they could be sold to raise money for FWCC and worldwide "good works" such as International Quaker Aid and others.
Mattapoisett Friends took this on under the guidance of Brad Hathaway, a philatelist, and they are still collecting stamps some 12 years later.
On February 12, 2007, the Quaker Missions Project mailed out a $500 check to Right Sharing of World Resources. That donation reached the $54,000 mark in total giving by the project since its inception 11 years before. The vast majority of funds were raised from the sale of used postage stamps.
Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of Friends all over the world, 84 different "good works" have received financial help over the first 10 years. This is a remarkable achievement considering the source of much of the funding has been from the little regarded used postage stamp.
How We Can Help
First, do not save: 39 cent Flag and Statue of Liberty stamps. 37 cent Flag stamps: 37 cent Heron stamps; 34 cent Statue of Liberty stamps. Postage meters are worthless - do not save them All other stamps, domestic and foreign are welcome. Please use commemorative stamps (they bring in the most money) on all your letters and packages. Encourage others in your Meeting to save stamps also. Better yet, have a "Stamp Collector Volunteer".
Use special care in clipping or tearing stamps from envelopes. Obviously, damaged stamps (clipped perforations, tears, thinned paper because stamps have been peeled from envelopes, etc.) have no resale value and should not be saved. Clip neatly around the stamps, leaving about 1/8 inch margin. DO NOT soak the stamps off the paper.
Make contact with a business that receives a lot of bill payments by mail and clip the commemoratives. If you know some one who gets foreign mail, tell them about this project.
Questions: Quaker Missions Mattapoisett Friends Meeting; P.O. Box 795, Mattapoisett, MA 02739