San Luis Obispo Tribune | 12/27/2005 | A stuffed mailbox

San Luis Obispo Tribune | 12/27/2005 | A stuffed mailbox: "Generosity's reward
A stuffed mailbox
Marty London of Grover Beach is enthusiastic about supporting charities but annoyed by the influx of junk mail that results; nonprofit organizations say spending money on mailers is necessary to help raise money for their missions
Nathan Welton
The Tribune

Grover Beach resident Marty London upended a large sack on his office table on a recent afternoon, spilling out hundreds of envelopes from national charities.

Some of the solicitations looked like official business correspondence, while others advertised free Christmas cards or mailing labels or wall calendars. One proudly displayed a personal note from a former president.

'I don't know why Jimmy Carter is writing to me,' London muttered.

Last January, he decided to answer one of those big mysteries: How much nonprofit junk mail really arrives in that mailbox?

So he started collecting. And collecting. And collecting. Now, after almost a year, he's gathered about 300 requests for money."