Many people would like to help out charities but find it difficult to make monetary donations. However, there are other ways of helping families in need, that may take a little effort but require no money. Donating used clothes and household goods and appliances to charities can help them to raise funds for their programs. These programs help the environment and veterans and their families.
How can you help families in need?
You may not have much cash to spare, but like most people you probably have a closet full of clothes that you never wear. In fact, you may have some stored away in the basement or attics as well. And if you?re a real pack rat, you may even have a storage unit to hold your overflow of clothing and household goods.
The good news is that you can put all your old clothes to good use by donating them to charitable organizations. Each year, Americans donate about 4.7 billion tons of used clothing to charity. This is sold by the charity organizations in thrift stores, and the money they raised goes to helping families in need. Even better, when you donate your used clothing, you?re keeping it out of the landfills, which helps the environment.
Who benefits from your charitable donations?
Charity foundations like the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) use the funds for helping military families. MOPH was created in 1958 by Congress and runs a range of programs for veterans, providing health, education and family support services. Donations to Purple Heart also help wounded veterans.
Organizations like the Society of St. Vincent de Paul help people in need, providing the essentials, like food, shelter, clothing, transportation and emotional support. And of course, your clothing donations help the families that shop at the thrift stores, giving them a chance to buy quality clothes and household goods at bargain prices. Many families regularly do their back to school shopping at thrift stores. They?re also a great resource for anyone setting up a household on a budget.
The practical stuff: how, where and what to donate
Charitable thrift stores accept gently used clothing and household goods, books, music, small kitchen appliances and toys. It?s a good idea to pick a reputable charitable organization, with tax-exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, for your donations. This allows you to claim the value of your donation as a tax write off.
You can bring your stuff to a drop-off point. Most of these are conveniently located in parking lots at malls or near schools and community centers. If you have a large shipment, or even want a house clear out, you can schedule a donations pick-up, and the charity will send out a truck and crew.
Even if you don?t have a lot of cash, you can fulfill your aspirations of helping families in need. Your clothing donations will help many people, in many different ways. And you?ll get the warm glow from doing a good deed that no amount of money can buy.
