When it comes to donating clothes, we can look to the wisdom of Mother Teresa who said “do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.” Love, whether expressed through a smile, hug, kind word or deed, never ceases to find ways to manifest itself through action.
Most would agree that action does not always have to be of epic proportions, however, in order to mean something. It doesn’t require a ticket across the world, or the climbing to Mt. Everest. Rather, it can be akin to a soft breeze. Simple. Subtle. Yet no less beautiful, memorable, or effective.
Love-inspired action can be simply a matter of putting clothes on a neighbor’s back. Donating lightly used clothing not only takes pressure off of hurting families in need. Think the need is not so bad? Think again. Although the economy does seem to be recovering, a lot of people are still struggling in cities across America. Take the people of Philadelphia, for instance. Approximately 440,000 Philadelphia residents currently fall below the federal poverty line.
It also stands to mention that donating clothes, toys, and household items (i.e.charitable donations) also helps the planet by reducing what goes to the landfills. As when helping ones neighbor, it becomes an act of love; an act of responsibility for our future generations.
Once on board with the idea, there are many clothing donation programs throughout the country that can make it easy. There are even charities that pick up clothing donations that convert these donations of clothing and household items into cash, which they use for helping families in need, be it food, shelter, clothing, transportation and emotional support. Charities did not always offer this much convenience; however, when they found that 50% of people donating clothes and goods prefer the door-to-door pickup method, and more than half would not go more than 10 minutes out of their way to make a drop off, it seemed like a good way forward.
With so many charitable organizations to support, given the approximately 1,507,231 tax-exempt, charitable organizations in the U.S., which one stands out? They all share the vision of “you are your brother’s keeper” and “neighbors helping neighbors.” But is there more? One suggestion would be to find a clothing donation charity that cares about both people and the planet. For humans and Mother Earth. It is reasonable and possible for charities go further than ever before.
