SARASOTA (FOX 13) - A Bay area Goodwill is putting an interesting spin on Valentine's Day, asking people to donate their ex's stuff, rather than throwing it away.
This Valentine's Day, Goodwill Manasota is asking the broken hearted to 'donate your ex's stuff.' FOX 13 talked with some people taking advantage of the opportunity to offload once happy memories turned painful.
"We kind of had a tough breakup because it's distance and we didn't want to break up, but we had too," Amanda Emory explained.
She decided to drop off a giant teddy bear her ex-boyfriend gave her on Valentine's day.
"I was thinking, 'if I donate this really cute teddy bear, somebody will want to buy it for their girlfriend or boyfriend, or their mom or dad will want to buy it for their kids.' I think it will be in much better hands," she said.
Employees said they hope to turn bad memories into good ones.
"We are encouraging people, instead of doing something drastic that you might regret, bring it into our stores and do something really nice with it," said Marketing and public relations coordinator Kelly Davis-Strausbaug.
Davis-Strausbaugh said, while they want your donations, make sure the stuff you are giving is yours and not the personal property of your ex.
"If someone leaves something behind, don't be malicious when you donate. Make sure it is something they have left behind or something they have given you that they don't need anymore," she said.
By getting rid of the leftover baggage, you could make yourself feel a little better.
"We say, 'turn the hate into donate' and make it something nice. Help someone else in the community," said Davis-Strausbaug.
After all, being the bigger person is always better, in the end.
"You can always get through it and doing stuff like this just makes you feel a little better about it," said Emory.
For more information on what you can or can not donate visit www.experiencegoodwill.org