A TODAY’S TMJ4 Exclusive I-Team investigation: junk mail! We all get it, but from charities we already support? TODAY’S TMJ4 Senior Investigative Reporter John Mercure has one woman's overwhelming story and how you can stop the flow of unwanted mail. It's not just mail: return address labels, notepads, stickers, all things that charities mail out, things that you pay for when you make a donation. “These are all the ones from the Alzheimer’s Association,” Mary Koczan said. Mary feels like she's being taken advantage of. Mary donates to several charities, but lately, it seems the more she gives, the more she gets harassed, usually by the organizations she's already helping. “I would much rather have all these letters still be trees somewhere instead of on my dining room table,” Mary said. That dining room table is buried with charity junk mail. “Notepads, greeting cards, maps, return address labels,” Mary said. Stickers, calendars, even a dream catcher, which caught Mary’s husband's attention. “To receive these gifts is no motivation and you think, 'oh what a waste of resources.’ Look at all this stuff,” Frank Koczan said. “I don't need to have piles and piles of notecards and piles and piles of return address labels. I would much rather have the money being used for the mission they state on their information,” Mary said. “About the only thing you can do when you get it is throw it away,” Elmer Prenzlow said. Elmer is with Wisconsin Consumer Protection. “If you get a free gift you feel obligated to give something back. It's part of human nature. It's what's being used in these 'free gift' solicitations,” Elmer said. Elmer says the worst part is that the charities you trust are probably selling your name. “They don't do it out of the goodness of their heart. A charity will actually make money by selling their contributor list to other charities,” Elmer said. It leaves Mary and Frank frustrated. “It really makes me wonder if my money is being spent in the most effective way,” Mary said. “:We're motivated to contribute. We're happy to contribute, but please don't sell our name to anybody else,” Frank said. There are a couple of things you can do to prevent this: write the charities you give to and ask them not to sell your name. You can also go to directmail.com and register on their national do not mail list.