Category: Red cross clothing donations

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Three Reasons to Donate to the American Red Cross

Red cross clothes donation

Many people find that donating to charities, such as giving American Red Cross donations, is a helpful way of getting rid of items they no longer use, while ensuring these items are given to benefit charity, rather than ending up in a landfill. Since over 65% of people donate items to charity every year, it stands to reason that the Red Cross is a worthy charity to donate to. Here are three reasons why giving is so important, and how the charity makes use of the donations people provide for them.

The American Red Cross Donations Individuals Provide Help Families and Those in Need

Whenever disaster strikes, the Red Cross uses donations, including clothes donations, to help individuals in need. This could be for large disasters, involving hurricanes and earthquakes, or it could be for smaller ones, such as a family losing their home in a fire. Every day, the charity helps individuals with needs such as food, shelter, and even blood, through their blood banks. This has not only saved countless lives, but if offers individuals many different ways to give back to their community. Those who cannot donate blood, for example, can donate clothing, or even food. There are many different ways for people to help out, no matter what ways they are capable of helping.

The Red Cross Does Pick Up for Donations That Individuals Cannot Drop Off

Many people have a giving spirit, but might not necessarily have the time to drop off to a donation center. In cases such as this, the Red Cross does clothing donation pickup. That means all an individual has to do is call the Red Cross, and they can come out to pick up the donations on a pre-determined day. Sometimes those who are donating can simply leave the donations on the front step or down by their mailbox. Other times, the Red Cross pickup might come out to someone?s home and even have volunteers to go in and pick up larger items that might be difficult for the donor to handle. This can make it easier to donate and get rid of items that an individual no longer wants to keep, and might otherwise throw away if it were not for the charity stepping and providing an alternative way of disposing of the items. Since most individuals throw away over 7 pounds of clothing every year, donating to charity is an effective way of helping others, as well as making the environment a better place.

American Red Cross Donations Can be Written Off as a Tax Deduction

Anyone who chooses to donate to the American Red Cross can rest assured that the money or items they give can be written off as a tax deduction. Individuals who choose to donate goods, be it used clothing donations or other items, should always obtain a receipt for things they have donated or dropped off, since that is the best way to know a monetary amount that was given, especially when the amount donated was done so via used items. Individuals should always save each donation receipt that they are given, so they can add them up when tax times comes, and be able to write these items off after tallying everything up. For those that are unable to make monetary donations, this is an ideal way of helping out, while still making a tax-deductible donation and being able to write this off.

There are many different reasons to help with American Red Cross donations. Doing so not only benefits one?s community, but it can also help others across the nation, especially in disastrous events. These donations can include food, giving blood, and even clothing and blankets. The Red Cross can come to a person?s home and pick up donations that they might not be able to drive and drop off to a Red Cross donation center. This can be helpful for those that do not have a lot of time, but still want to give. Finally, donating items is helpful for anyone who wants to write off donations for their taxes. This is useful for anyone who wants to donate, but does not wish to provide monetary donations.

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Three Advantages Of Donating Clothes

Red cross clothing donations

Each year, the Red Cross helps millions of people — and there are millions more that need help. A variety of different people need help from charities like the Red Cross; on any given night in January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless in the United States. While many of these people could have benefited from the Red Cross, the Red Cross also helps people who have homes but are still living in poverty, and for that matter people who are extremely ill. The Red Cross works for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, giving people blankets, food, shelter, and even blood. But the Red Cross and charities of its kind can’t do the work that they need to do without donations. While some think that the only way they can meaningfully give is through monetary donations, the reality is that some of the best types of donations come in the form of used clothes. Used clothing donations make a big difference for the Red Cross — while some clothes are sold to raise money, others are given to people who really need them. However, many do not give clothes donations as much as they would have otherwise because it’s difficult and tedious to drop them off. The Red Cross clothing pick up system makes a big difference in this regard. Below, we’ll list a few of the advantages of the Red Cross clothing pick up system, and why donating clothes is good not just for the charity you’re donating, but you as well.

1. The Red Cross Clothing Pick Up System Makes Donations Simple

While many people like to donate clothes, the actual act is a bit more tedious and complicated than most of us would like to admit. Many find that it takes a long time to gather up the clothes they want to donate — then they have to find a clothing donation center that will take the clothes. For people who live in areas that are fairly far away from these centers, this can be frustrating. Between work and life, we just don’t always have the time to donate clothes. Luckily, the Red Cross clothing pick up system makes this much simpler. You can simply gather up the clothes you want to donate and have them ready to be picked up, without worrying about anything else. For many, this is a major relief. However, it’s not just that these donations are now easier to make — they also come with great benefits to not just you, but the world at large.

2. Clothing Donations Cut Down On Waste

Think about how many clothes you’ve bought within the past year — the number is probably higher than you’d imagine. It’s estimated that Americans consume 20 million garments a year. That equals 68 garments and seven pairs of shoes per person — or rather, more than one item of clothing purchased each week. What do you do when you outgrow these clothes — or for that matter, when the trend you bought them for goes out of style? It’s important that you’re able to declutter and do the things that you want to do with your old clothes; even if that means “getting rid” of them. But throwing clothes away does have a negative impact on the environment. The EPA reports that Americans throw out an average of 10 pounds of clothing per year. By donating clothes instead, you cut down on this waste, and for that matter prevent the pollution that comes with throwing away clothes.

3. Giving Back Makes People Feel Good

It’s reported that 63% of high net worth donors donate because they want to give back to the community. Of course, as discussed, you don’t have to have a high net worth to donate. One of the major reasons why people donate clothes is that they simply get a good feeling in return. Donating clothes helps you declutter, which promotes a healthier attitude. That attitude only increases when you give back.

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Want to Make an Impact? Consider Donating Your Gently Used Clothes to Charity

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Is your closet just positively overflowing? Have you got numerous bags in your basement stacked chock full of clothes your kids have outgrown? Are you wondering what to do with all the clothing items you don’t want? Have you ever considered doing a Red Cross clothing pickup? This is not only a great way to give back to those in need, it’s a great way to clean out your closets. Instead of throwing those perfectly serviceable clothes away, give them a second chance at life, by donating them to charity. Someone desperately in need of a new winter coat, nice outfit for work or an interview, or new school clothes may be able to give them a second life. This is also a great way to get the little ones involved in giving back — they may get a huge kick out of donating their clothes and toys that are gently used.
Why Should I Participate in a Red Cross Clothing Pickup?
For one thing, you’re guaranteed that a Red Cross clothing pickup is legitimate.
The Red Cross is devoted to giving relief to those who need 24/7, no matter if it’s a weekend, holiday, or an ungodly hour of the night. They deliver services like distributing blankets, food, blood, shelter, and even medicine in some cases to families and larger communities who need it. They’re often one of the first responders on the scene of a disaster, such a natural disaster wracked community.
And even though the American National Red Cross is the 13th largest charity in the United States (per private donations), it still needs our help to carry out its mission of good.
Why Should I Give Back?
When everyone chips in and does their part, a community can be a wonderful, vibrant place, supporting those in need and fostering a reciprocal, caring environment. The idea of paying it forward is definitely real and you never know when a good deed can come back when you need one down the road!
It’s also just part of being a good human being. Every person deserves to have enough food to eat, clean and sanitary water to drink, access to good hygiene measures, and warm, dry clothes. Donating items that you’ll never use, but that are still in good condition, and other such items helps make that road easier for many people.
How is Making Clothes Donations Useful?
Sure, giving money is incredibly helpful. But donating clothes, actual items, can often be a more direct way to get your donation right to the source. During a winter coat drive, for example, you know the coat you donate is going to be used by someone who needs a winter coat. With monetary donations, a part does go to fund the administrative aspects of running the charitable organization, and while that’s necessary, many people would prefer that all of their donations go directly to those who really need it.
Used clothing donations can also be used by charitable organizations to generate revenue, by reselling the clothes at lower prices in their stores. Much of that money is turned right back around used to fund programs or services the charitable organization runs. When you donate clothes, an estimated 80% of these go through said charitable organizations who give it those in need or who use it to help fund programs and services, as previously stated.
Furthermore, donating your clothes (or scheduling a Red Cross clothing pickup) is environmentally friendly as well! According to the EPA (Environmental Protection), we throw out about ten pounds of clothes every year. That’s a lot of people throwing a lot of perfectly good clothing and other textiles in our landfills every year, when much of could be reworn or repurposed. What a waste! Save billions of tons of fabric from the landfill by simply donating it.
If you want to give back, but aren’t sure what’s the best way, or you don’t have too much money to give, try donating your clothes! Everyone benefits: you get a cleaner closet, someone in need gets new clothing to wear, and a little bit less ends up in the dump. Win-win, all around!

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Clothing for the Needy Burned and Stolen in Two Separate Incidents

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Unfortunately, despite good people in the world who work with clothing donation centers and donate clothing, there are still bad seeds in this world. There have always been bad people, but it stings a little more when the bad that is done affects clothing donation centers.

In two separate incidents within one day of each other, used clothing donations were either stolen or destroyed.

According to CBS Detroit, in Michigan, three bins containing more than 1,500 pounds of donated clothing were destroyed by a fire.

Police are looking for a suspect after St. Vincent de Paul workers noticed the bins burnt to a crisp when they got to work.

“We are just distraught over this,” Michelle St. Pierre said. “Just the fact that somebody would do that. I guess that people just don’t realize that we really rely on those donations to help the neighbors in need.”

Another sad story involving a clothing donation center happened in Pennsylvania. WNEP reports that thousands of dollars in donated items were stolen at Hamilton Township.

According to state police, this isn’t the first time that the clothing bins have been burglarized. The Community Aid donation bins have been hit more than 12 times over the last few months — resulting in thousands of dollars in clothing being stolen.

“I think it’s a terrible thing, “Dinh Daugherty said. “I mean you know, why would someone want to do something like that? It’s a donation. It’s for people who are in need.”

A theft this past April resulted in more than $2,500 worth of donations being stolen.

“Stop it if you can, but how can you when it’s right out here in the open?” Art Faber asked. “You can’t police it all the time. You’d have to have someone watching the bins and I don’t think that will work.”

It’s unknown whether or not the bins will be moved into a safer location at this time.

“It’s a horrible thing, Daughtery added. “I mean, especially when you are trying to do something good and people are doing bad things.”

Don’t let the bad acts of a few stop you from going to donate clothes. You can still help people in need.
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