<p>We had a lot of small sports participation trophies, some academic things from school, and some HUGE trophies from local chess tournaments. I think the highest either of mine ever placed was 7th or 8th, and the trophy was as tall as the 10 year-old kid! They gladly let me take them all to the church where one played sports to be recycled, through their sports program or summer camp. The chess trophies I gave back to the director of the tournaments.</p>
<p>We have some trophies but for the me the issue is the horse show ribbons. They have the name of the riding club on them so you can’t donate them to another organization. At this time my D has reached the point it the ribbon isn’t a 1st or 2nd she will leave it at the show and hopefully the show picks them up and reuses them.</p>
<p>I keep threatening to take the uber-tacky (and huge!) 8th grade writing trophy and make a table lamp out of it…but so far it’s hanging out in a box in the basement with the other ones…</p>
<p>Many years ago, when my aunt and uncle lost their beloved 22-year old star athlete son to a tragic accident, they treasured his many trophies, until, a few years later, they decided to move to a smaller home in another state. At that time, they decided they wanted to donate his trophies to youngsters who might not be able to afford them. They brought them to the local jeweler who did much of the engraving for local teams, who, in turn, donated them to local youth organizations. The jeweler kindly removed their son’s engraved plates from each trophy and mounted them on a couple of wall plaques,which he presented as a gift to them. My aunt and uncles were so appreciative, as the plaques were easy to transport, easy to display, and preserved the precious memories of their son’s athletic achievements.</p>
<p>One of my kids was a mathlete who amassed a huge collection of trophies that were meaningful to him in middle school and high school, but not so much during college. We offered them around, and they went to a music teacher who travels between schools in low-income districts.</p>
<p>Its fun to think that a trophy achieved for a high Mandelbrot score may have become an award for high achievement on a Mendelssohn score. :)</p>