By Conrad Easterday, CTCN Editor

Life’s Hope has given away $14 million in unwanted and returned items so far this year from Amazon’s globe-spanning network of warehouses.
And that’s a conservative estimate, says Life’s Hope founder Brent Justus of Duncan.
This week, semi loads of merchandise are being delivered to Chickasha Public Schools one building and one classroom at a time. Each child gets to choose two gifts from the mass of boxes, one for them and one for someone special in their life.
“We live in a really me-me world,” Justus said. “We really want these kids to think about other people when they’re choosing these gifts.”
Bill Wallace Elementary was the first Chickasha school to be visited by one of the semis. It’s layout has made it a suitable staging area for the district to bring in students from other locations, Superintendent Rick Croslin said. Middle and high school students are getting their chance at the boxes this week.
What the students find and what volunteers and school personnel screen first — to make sure all of the Amazon products are child-appropriate — includes vacuum cleaners, bedding, patio furniture, auto parts, window blinds, 3D printers, and arts and crafts.
“You name it,” Croslin said. “We’ve had volunteers come from businesses, USAO, everywhere. They’ve been fantastic. Our community is the best.”
Students have had to put some thought into their selections, he noted. Few of the boxes contain toys.
Classes with the best attendance records get first crack at the boxes, but not all of the boxes are opened immediately, making sure all students have opportunities at fresh items. Ten percent of the items are returns. Ninety percent are new items that Amazon clears out of its warehouses to make room for newer items. Life’s Hope, in addition to its other charitable efforts, has connected with 20 school districts already and has 20 more scheduled with a goal of visiting every school in Oklahoma. Justus has already crossed the border into Texas and will be making the long trip to New York in the near future.
Justus, who co-founded Life’s Hope was connected with his wife, Leslie, was introduced by Convoy of Hope to Jeff Kingery of 4Good Community who has the direct connection to Amazon.