The van is packed. Not even half full, but packed. As your husband prepares to leave for Louisiana first thing tomorrow morning, large stacks of empty storage tubs and lids have been placed in the van. He is driving 12 hours south to help your daughter move out of her dorm after the completion of her first year in college. She and a group of her friends have gone together to rent a storage unit for larger items like refrigerators, microwaves, futons, and shelving units, but most of your daughter’s other belongings will be making the trip back home with her.
You have encouraged both your daughter and your husband to just pack things up quickly so that you can get out of the dorm and into the house they have rented for the weekend. A few of her items will just go in the Louisiana storage unit and she will wash them when she gets them out of storage again next fall. You have encouraged her to bring her bedding and the majority of her clothes home though.
In the mean time, you and your younger daughter are going to spend part of the weekend getting everything out of your older daughter’s closet that does not belong there. In a society that has a lot and wants even more, one closet does not always seem to be enough. And while your daughters are both reorganizing and arranging their clothing and other personal items you are reminded of those in the country who do not have the same problems.
While your daughters are busy cramming more than can fit into moving boxes, plastic tubs, storage units, and closets, you are trying to make your family consider others who are far less fortunate.
Three Types of Clothing Items to Donate
The truth is charity donations are needed across America. No matter what it is that is cluttering up your closets, it would likely be very appreciated by someone less fortunate.
Nice, Rarely Worn Clothing
A large group of realtors in Fredericksburg, Virginia, recently announced a clothing drive in their area. They are collecting professional clothes that people want to get rid of because they no longer fit or are no longer worn. The Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors, partnering with the local nonprofit program ProjectLINK, is hosting a professional clothing drive. These collected items, including donations of professional attire, shoes, handbags, jewelry and maternity clothes will become part of future day long event in the community. With those donated clothes and other items, the group of realtors will set up a single day ?boutique? at the new Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Participants of ProjectLINK will be able to select a few outfits to wear for job interviews, court appointments, and other events. The group has plans to make sure that all of the items are clean and ready to be worn.
Used and Worn Clothing
Even clothing items that have been worn and washed many times can still serve a purpose for many families in the community. Organizations that accept clothing donations often provide free clothing offerings to families who have little access to other options. A worn pair of shorts that your son no longer wears, for example, can become a summer pair of shorts for a child in need. Those extra shorts may mean that the child in need can save his better clothes for school, church, or other events. In fact, charity donations are essential to many families in America. Charitable clothing donations often allow families to have more money to spend on healthy food choices for their children.
Unwearable Clothing and Textiles
Even when families feel that they have given all of their better discarded clothing as charity donations, remaining unused, worn, and stained clothing can still serve a purpose. Instead of throwing these items into America’s already crowded landfills, these textiles can be donated to clothing recycling centers. Did you know, for instance, that the textile recycling industry accounts for nealry 17,000 jobs throughout the U.S.? Unfortunately, the recovery rate for used clothing and textiles in America during the year 2011 was only 15.3%? The rest, some 12 million tons of clothing and textile waste, is thrown into landfills every year.
Charity donations provide for those Americans in need.