It has been a long time since the pastor has left a church council meeting feeling this good. Amidst the many personnel and budget decisions that the group needed to make, the church council also decided to go forward with the plan for a food pantry in the west basement. Because it has a separate entrance it is a perfect location for a pantry that will be available to the public on announced days and times. After reaching out to the local public schools, the pastor determined that there is a definite neat in the western part of the city for this service.
Although church volunteers of all ages will help staff the new service, the church will work with the county system that helps monitor and track those families who are most in need. Although this community that is in need can always needs gently used clothing and household donations, the even larger need is for personal care items and pantry availability.
Some of the best charities to donate to are groups that are in direct connection with local schools and churches. These local organizations are in direct contact with families and children most days of the year. When a child, for example, comes to school in the same filthy shirt day after day, the school can tactfully distribute extra clothes. In many cases, these schools are also able to send a bag of weekend groceries home to families who receive free and reduced lunches during the school week.
What Makes You Finally Decide to Sort Through Your Unused and Unwanted Clothing?
School is finally done for the year, the kids are at home, and the family has the entire summer to look forward to. And while the kids have their minds on mornings sleeping in, days at the pool, and late nights binge watching their favorite shows, you have a few things that you insist need to get done first. The top item on the list is sorting through the closets, drawers, and baskets in the kids’ bedrooms. You spent the last few weeks while the school year was winding down at home cleaning out and reorganizing the kitchen cupboards and drawers. By the end you had an three boxes of household donations that you were able to deliver to a local charity. It is now time for the younger members of your house to do their part. By sorting through their items, the school age children can declutter their belongings while also providing charitable donations.
Clothing and Household Donations Help Families in Need Get Back on Their Feet
In a time when many Americans have far more than they need, it is important to remember that others in the U.S. are in an entirely different situation. While some families look forward to summer vacations from school, other families with two working parents struggle to find options for the care of their children.
Donated household items and gently used clothing, for example, may be just what a family needs to help them make a difference this summer. If, for example, a family can find the next size in tennis shoes for their growing children, they may not have to work that extra overtime shift. If, on the other hand, household donations include a still working microwave and refrigerator a young mother of three may be able to spend a little more time at home with her children instead of picking up extra shifts to make ends meet.
In a time when the country battles over the decision to raise the minimum raise, many families struggle to put food on the table and clothing on their children. Donated items help bridge the gap between those in this country who have much, and those in this country who have little. Especially when statistics show that most Americans buy at least twice as many pieces of clothing as people did 20 years ago it is imperative that those with the extras carefully consider what they do with their unwanted items.
Alarmingly, we are a nation that throws as much as 10.5 million tons of clothing to landfills every year. So not only are we not helping those in need, we are also causing an environmental issue that will take years from which to recover.