It is an end of summer transition that really matters.
Every summer as the last few weeks wind down before the start of school, your children start to talk about back to school shopping. They are anxious for new clothes, new shoes, and, of course, new school supplies. Three years ago, however, you came up with the most excellent plan. Before you took them shopping for anything new for the upcoming school year you worked with them to clean out their closets. You threw away some things, but many outgrown items were still in really good condition so you set those aside in a donation pile. Once the closet cleaning concluded, you and the kids went to an area shelter where you could donate your gently used items. On at least two occasions, you were also able to find a volunteer opportunity for the kids as well. Once you sorted through other clothing donations; once you played in a daycare setting with young children whose parents were out job hunting or taking career readiness classes.
The combination of the closet cleaning and the stop by the donation center served a real purposes. First, the process made sure that your kids had recently taken inventory of what they already had and the few things that they actually needed. Secondly, visiting, and sometime volunteering, at the shelter meant that they gained a new perspective. Going shopping right after you have visited the shelter, in fact, kept your children in check. You are able to show your children, through the needs of others, how fortunate they really are. That you really do not need so many clothes that you cannot fit them all in your closet. You can be very happy with fewer things and that is a great lesson for any elementary, middle school, or high school student to know.
Whether you make the decision to make veterans clothing donations or shelter donations, it is always a good idea to make sure that your children appreciate what they have and how they can help others who are not as fortunate.
Do You Know Where to Donate Household Items?
The decision to make once or twice a year veterans clothing donations can help you take control of the clutter in your home while also helping families in need. In a time when so many are struggling to make it from paycheck to paycheck, it is nice to know that just taking the time to declutter your home of items that you no longer use can help provide assistance to people who rely on veterans clothing donations for their families.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the country’s needs and habits for making regular contributions to veterans clothing donations and other collection centers:
- Average Americans today buy twice as much clothing as people did 20 years ago.
- Research indicates that 2.5 billion pounds of fabric were kept from the landfills by used-clothing purchases in the year 2016.
- Estimates show that 43% of those surveyed gave more during the holidays than the rest of the year. Another 44.4% report.ed giving the same amount no matter what time of the year it was.
- Approximately 4.7 billion pounds of clothing are donated by Americans every single year.
- Letting your children to participate in the process of donating clothing and other household items to group that distributes these items to those less fortunate, teaches your children the value of appreciating what they have.
- Giving to charitable organizations totaled $358.38 billion in the year 2014.
- Instead of living in a home with closets, drawers, and cabinets that are exploding, doesn’t it make sense to go through the items that you have at least once a year and donate the items that you no longer use.
- Feeling stressed about the back to school process? Declutter and donate during these last few days of summer.
- The majority of social media users would take some kind of action in response to a friend posting a story about making a charitable donation. In fact, 70% of your friends might follow our lead if you post of your recent donation.
Deciding to make A REAL GIFT to someone in need can help you avoid clutter in your home and care for those less fortunate at the same time.