Helping Military Families with What You Have

Everyone wants the best for their families. And for most families, doing whatever is necessary to ensure that all family members are safe, warm, clothed, fed and have a place to sleep with a roof overhead is paramount. But what about those who cannot provide for their families in the way that they’ve hoped, or those families who face difficult times when a family member is away in the military? For those individuals who understand the importance of family and offering a helping hand, donations for military families might be an obvious next step.

Helping families in need through clothing donations

How often do we hang on to things that we don’t wear or use, just in case we find a use for them or decide we actually do like how it fits? If you are really honest with yourself, how much would you miss it if you decided to finally do away with it? Even if it is something that has sentimental value, if you do not use it, you are not getting the most out of it. You can keep the memories of that first date or that amazing family vacation, but get rid of the shirt or dress that you haven’t worn since then. By going through your closet and dresser drawers, cleaning out what you don’t wear, and gathering those up as donations for military families, you are making life just a little bit better for everyone.

Helping military families and helping the planet too

When you contribute clothing and household goods as donations for military families, you are not only making a difference in the lives of those in need or those with bigger things to worry about, you are helping to keep our planet clean and livable. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that while about 75% of solid waste could be recycled, unfortunately only around 30% of it actually does get recycled. And there has been research conducted showing that about 12 million tons of clothing and other textile waste is tossed out each and every year in the United States. There is hope though, when we look at what was disposed of properly. About 87 million tons of materials were composted or recycled in 2012 in the United States. We can make a difference in keeping significant amounts of waste out of the landfills that are growing at alarming rates and clogging up the planet.

Doing what is best for everyone

It is probably well past time for you to go through and rid your house of all the excess clothing and items that do nothing but take up space. You will feel better, maybe even lighter, with it gone. There are families going through incredibly difficult times. Receiving donations and help from the community could be the very thing they need that keeps them going. The landfills are full enough. Donating keeps from adding more unnecessary pollution. Who would have ever imagined that the simple act of donating some old clothes would have such an impactful ripple effect?
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