As uncomfortable it is to admit, thousands of people in the United States — men, women, and children alike — lack basic necessities that most Americans take for granted. Food, clothing, shelter, warmth. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were more than 610,000 thousand homeless people in 2013. Nearly a quarter of them are children, and nearly a third of them live together as families. These people have nowhere to go or turn. For them, finding something as common as a jacket or pair of socks can be an uphill battle. And especially in the winter, having adequate clothing can truly affect a person’s life and health.
Which is why charitable clothing donations are so important in today’s society. Without charitable donations from the average citizen, the homeless and poverty-stricken would be ever worse-off. Consider, for example, the kinds of groups and people that contributed to charity in 2013:
- 72% ($240 billion) of donations came from individual donors.
- 16% ($53 billion) of donations came from the education sector.
- 5% ($17 billion) of donations came from corporate donors.
Although all donations are generous and welcome in their own right, the fact that corporate donors, who are ideally capable of giving the most, only contributed 5% of total charitable donations is disconcerting. The homeless do not care where the help comes from. On the other hand, they care that it actually comes.
For this reason (and many more, of course), making charitable clothing donations to your local charity or non-profit organization is important now more than ever. There are a wide variety of charities to support, locally and nationally. We all have used or discarded clothing we no longer wear. By simply taking five minutes every few months to collect and organize your used clothing, you can provide warmth and comfort to those who need it the most. Donating clothes is one of the warmest acts you can do. Read more like this.
