Nonprofit organizations. The word that comes to mind is charity or the phrase charitable giving. Nonprofit organizations distribute many things to certain populations. There are nonprofit organizations that give food to the homeless and low-income families. There are nonprofit organizations who distribute disaster relief clothing.
One nonprofit organization has a special purpose: It distributes clothing to military veterans who may be homeless or disabled. They are called GreenDrop and they advocate for those in less good circumstances who may need clothing or support. There is a reason why this works. It is because Americans have a lot of clothes, and throw away a lot of them.
Some statistics about Americans and clothing are included in the following section. They are as follows:
- The average American purchases 10 pounds of previously used clothing each year in the United States.
- In 2011, an estimated 2 million tons of clothing and textiles were recycled or donated to charity in the United States.
- An estimated 80% of donated clothing in the United States is used by charitable organizations for donation to the needy, and for funding.
- Research shows that 12 million tons of clothing and textile waste is thrown out in the United States each year.
- Americans recycle or donate only 15% of their used clothing, and the rest, which is about 10.5 million tons a year, goes into landfills, giving textiles one of the poorest recycling rates of any reusable material.
- Of the roughly 2 million tons of used clothing Americans recycle each year, less than half is ever worn again: 30% is cut up for use as industrial rags, and another 20% is shredded for couch stuffing and home insulation.
- According to the Council for Textile Recycling, the U.S. generates around 25 billion pounds of brand-new textiles per year (around 85% of that eventually heads for landfills). Goodwill, Salvation Army and other secondhand stores get the remaining 15%.
- The average American tosses 82 pounds of textile waste each year.
Those statistics show a trend within America. There are clothes that are used that often do not go to donation centers. They are often thrown in landfills or thrown away in the trash. There are clothes that do go to donation centers, but the number or the percentage is much smaller for these clothes.
Americans, though, give to charity. According to some statistics, over 90% of Americans give to charity and even though many Americans are giving more than the other, a large amount give possibly a good amount of money to charity. This comes in the form of monetary donations, clothing donations, food donations, and time spent.
These donations go to many needy populations. There are the homeless, which need clothes and food. There are people who need clothes who are not homeless. There are those that need support with health problems. There are those who need help with day to day functions. And there are those who are low income and need certain things to get by.
One of these groups are those that have served our country. They are the military veterans and their families. There are many instances of military men and women who experience devastating injuries while serving in active duty overseas. These men and women sometimes struggle because they have trouble working.
Or their finances have been depleted from the medical care. They are in need of clothes sometimes, and that’s where GreenDrop comes in. GreenDrop creates donation boxes around the country where people can drop off clothing for military families. GreenDrop also allows for donations that may be picked up by a person from the organization.
There are some terms worth noting in this article. They are where can I donate clothes, pick up clothing donations, donation pick up, donation pickup, helping families in need, helping military families, organizations that pick up donations, donate clothes, military charities, military donations, military support, local donation pick ups, and more.
Helping military families is a positive thing, especially when that military person has been injured. In general, however, helping military families fosters a sense of community, as they are serving the United States. Helping military families can involve giving clothing donations, but also lending a helping hand with baking, food, and more.
There are others ways people can get into helping military families. There are many positive avenues. There are ways to help.
