There are many people in the midwest who are struggling. From the latest high winds, tornadoes, hail, and continuing flooding, in fact, there are many who are weary from the weather. In some parts of Iowa, for instance, many people who were finally able to get to and from work on highways that were opened after early floods this year, now find themselves again driving three hours to get to a job that should only be a 20 minute trek. Displaced because their home has been destroyed by wind or ruined by water, many of these families are seeking help for everything from the food that they need to eat to the clothes that they need to wear to the place where they need to sleep. Fortunately, there are many organizations that accept clothing donations, as well as monetary gifts.

In time of great need, there are often many who will step up and make sure that they are doing their part. From churches to school groups to businesses to individuals, if many people make a commitment to giving even a little they can have a significant impact.

Both Charitable Clothing Donations and Monetary Gifts Serve Important Purposes to Families in Need

Fire, flood, and accident victims may have all gotten to where they are because of different misfortunes, but in the end they all have the same needs: food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over their head. In a time of great need it is a very good thing that as many as 95.4% of Americans indicate that they participate at some level of charitable giving.
And while there are some donors who are able to make very large donations, there are many more who are only able to give a small amount. Consider some of these small, but kind, gifts that can make a huge difference to people who need so much and the efforts that are made by organizations that accept clothing donations and other items:

• A group of high school graduates take self care gift baskets to all of the patients currently on a hospital floor where one of their fellow classmates died earlier in the school year.
• Parochial students all bring a dollar every Friday of the year so they can wear jeans instead of the school uniform. All of the money is donated to a local food bank at the end of the year.
• Sunday school students collect diapers to donate to local charities for military families.
• A local business allows workers to take three days off a year to donate to organizations that pick up donations
  or other area non profits.
• Middle school athletes donate one practice time a season to helping a neighborhood clean up after storms ripped through the area.

Organizations that accept clothing donations help many families navigate the challenges they face. Groups that organize teams of volunteers can help many areas overcome the effects of bad storms and other emergency events. Entire communities that work with volunteers who come in from out of town can really have an impact. Unfortunately, in a time when there are so many who are in need there are still too many Americans who do not realize all that they could be doing to help. In fact, the recovery rate for used clothing and textiles in the year 2011 was only 15.3% in the U.S. In an indication that there might be some progress being made, an estimated $5.8 billion worth of clothing related donations were made to charity foundations in the U.S. in 2017. And while this may seem like a substantial amount, the fact of the matter is we still throw away far more than we recycle or donate.

As further evidence that we all need to do more to make sure that we are doing our part to help others in need, you simply have to know the statistics about the amount of textiles that end up in landfills. For example, Americans recycle or donate only 15% of their used clothing, and the rest, which amounts to nearly 10.5 million tons a year, goes into landfills, giving textiles one of the poorest recycling rates of any material that is reusable. Organizations that accept clothing donations can help remedy these disappointing statistics.