There’s a strange disparity that is seemingly growing within America right now, and has been for decades. This gap, at its core, is a wealth-gap — people either live an amazing life, a modest one, or a very poor one. One of the most recognizable ways that this can be seen is through the number of items that people own. The average, middle-class American own a lot of stuff nowadays, particularly clothes. The average American woman, who only owned nine outfits back in 1930, now owns well over 30 outfits.
The shame to this standard of living and owning of stuff is that a lot of it goes unused and unworn. Consider your own bedroom at this very moment: How often do you wear the outfits that you own? It’s likely that you wear a handful of them very often — shirts, pants, sweaters, etc.. Otherwise, most of the other clothes/outfits go unworn, worn only for an occasion and nothing more. Not only are those clothes going unworn and taking up space within your home, but they are sitting untouched while they could be better serving those that cannot even begin to afford an outfit or two.
If you are in this situation — where you own too many clothes and are seeking to donate them to people who need them more than you, you should consider seeking out organizations that accept clothing donations. More than 2 million tons of clothing was donated to charities just in 2011; becoming part of this charitable movement is a selfless endeavor. However, these organizations that accept clothing donations, who are focused on helping families in need, are countless, but they differ in where they donate their clothing to.
Most charitable donation organizations offer used clothing pick up services and drop off locations where clothing can be donated to a greater cause. In particular, they will seek to recycle clothing, keeping it out of landfills and providing to people that will greatly benefit from its arrival. Most of the organizations that accept clothing donations tend to partner with several other types of charitable organizations, increasing their charitable reach:
Charities for Military Families
While entering and serving in the military brings a specific sort of valor about it, there also comes some poor after-effects. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain/health issue, severe injury/dismemberment, and, at worst, death: A soldier and their family can easily become burdened by the detritus fallout that can come from time spent serving in the military.
If you’d like to support these people and their families, consider seeking out an organization that helps military families, particularly those that have been damaged or unnecessarily burdened by the effects of war. Partnerships between these two types of organizations that accept clothing donations, military and charitable donation collections, provides former military members and their families with the resources needed to properly integrate them back into civilian life, at its basic level, giving them clothing so to save them money, and offer them a simple, kind, caring gesture in return of their ultimate service and sacrifice.
Charities for the Physically Disabled
Providing resources and shattering the ever-present misunderstandings about the physically disabled — blind, paralyzed, etc., these charities, when paired with organizations that accept clothing donations, can provide necessary resources and materials that will further their initiatives for the better. These organizations and charities for the physically disabled provide the means and resources such that people can reach their greatest potential without unnecessary roadblocks.
Catholic Charities
Two organizations that accept clothing donations together, local catholic charities, organizations who seek to further local, communal endorsements and charitable exercises, works along with donation organizations to procure clothing and household items from local communities to provide resources to the at-risk, in-need members of their community. These person-to-person interactions and donations help ensure that communities are bettering themselves, starting with those that most need it.