Where To Donate Used Or Old Clothes To Charity
It looks as if there’s all the time no less than one factor in my closet I by no means put on. It could possibly be a pair of denims I can’t squeeze into anymore, a sweater I bought as a present and by no means actually favored, or a special-occasion dress with out an event. These clothes are of no use to me, however they’re nonetheless in good condition, so I hate to throw them out.
I may attempt to make a little extra cash by promoting them on eBay or Craigslist, however it by no means appears to be definitely worth the hassle for simply a few bucks. It’s a lot much less work to donate them to native charities. And I may even get a tax deduction for my donation.
Donating outdated garments has a number of advantages. It retains my unused clothes out of landfills and will get them into the fingers of people that can actually use them. With so many organizations that settle for used garments, it’s straightforward to do.
Where to Donate Clothes Nationally
Many charitable organizations acquire outdated clothes gadgets. These nationwide organizations have drop-off websites everywhere in the nation, so it’s straightforward to discover a location close to you. Some of them may even choose up undesirable clothes from your own home.
1. American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is likely one of the oldest and best-known charities within the United States. Its volunteers are among the many first on the scene throughout any pure catastrophe, together with the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021. It additionally conducts blood drives and supplies coaching in first support.
The Red Cross collects used clothes and sells it to thrift stores to fund its catastrophe aid efforts and different applications. It accepts practically any type of clothes in good situation, together with T-shirts, pants, shirts, blouses, jackets, ties, shorts, swimsuits, sweaters, outerwear, sneakers and boots, pajamas, purses, formal put on, and even underwear.
The Red Cross has a partnership with GreenDrop, a donation pickup service utilized by a number of charities, to acquire clothes donations. You can discover a drop-off location on GreenDrop’s website, or you name 888-944-3767 to schedule a donation pickup at your own home.
2. Becca’s Closet
Your highschool promenade is a once-in-a-lifetime event. The eveningwear you put on to it’s once-in-a-lifetime eveningwear. But as soon as promenade evening is over, it simply sits in a closet gathering mud.
By donating that outdated promenade dress to Becca’s Closet as an alternative, you possibly can assist make promenade evening particular for somebody who can’t afford a dress of their very own. This nonprofit collects formal clothes to donate to high-school college students who want them. It additionally awards scholarships to high-school seniors who’ve proven excellent service to their communities.
Becca’s Closet accepts new and gently used formal clothes, each quick and lengthy, in present types (not more than 5 years outdated). It notably welcomes extra-large (16 and up) and extra-small sizes (0 to 4). It additionally collects formal sneakers, night baggage, and costume jewellery. It doesn’t settle for marriage ceremony robes, on a regular basis clothes, or any garment with seen injury.
Becca’s Closet has 61 chapters throughout 29 U.S. states. To donate your promenade dress, choose your local chapter on the group’s web site to discover out the place to drop off or ship your dress. You may fill out and obtain a donation receipt on the web site on your taxes.
3. Big Brother Big Sister Foundation
The Big Brother Big Sister Foundation (BBBSF) pairs at-risk youngsters within the higher Boston space, southern New Hampshire, and Maine with grownup mentors. The one-on-one friendships these youngsters type with grownup function fashions assist them develop into wholesome and productive adults.
To fund its work, BBBSF collects gently used clothes, sneakers, and a few home goods. It then resells these donated gadgets by way of varied venues, together with thrift shops, consignment shops, public sale homes, flea markets, and on-line sellers similar to eBay. Over 87% of the money it collects goes instantly to its applications.
BBBSF accepts nearly any kind of clothes in good situation. All sizes and seasons are acceptable, as are footwear, sleepwear, and equipment. The solely factor it might’t take is undergarments.
The group has seven drop packing containers throughout Massachusetts the place you possibly can drop off your clothes donations. Massachusetts residents may schedule a pickup from dwelling by way of the BBBSF website.
4. Career Gear
Wearing the suitable garments for a job interview can imply the distinction between getting an excellent job and getting handed over. Unfortunately, many younger males coming into the workforce and a few older males reentering it after a interval of unemployment can’t afford an excellent interview swimsuit.
That’s the place Career Gear is available in. This New York City-based nationwide nonprofit helps males of all ages and backgrounds who’re coming into or reentering the workforce get the business attire they want to current themselves professionally. Its aim is to assist males get jobs and change into stronger members of their communities.
Career Gear accepts each business-professional and business-casual clothes in good situation. Acceptable clothes and equipment embody dress pants, solid-color blazers and sports activities coats, dress shirts and different collared shirts, dress and casual sneakers, black or brown socks, belts in black or brown leather-based, ties, equipment, and outerwear. All attire have to be in model and free from stains and odors.
As of April 2021, Career Gear is placing all its clothes collections on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can e-mail [email protected] to obtain updates when the group is accepting garments once more.
5. Dress for Success
What Career Gear does for males, Dress for Success does for ladies. This nationwide nonprofit helps low-income ladies get good jobs by furnishing them with skilled clothes. Founded in 1997, it now operates in nearly 150 cities in 25 nations and has helped greater than 1.2 million ladies additional their careers.
Dress for Success has 89 affiliate places inside the U.S. Each one has its personal hours of operation, particular drop-off days, and tips about what clothes gadgets it does and doesn’t settle for. However, normally, try to be ready to donate any garment or accent that’s applicable for a job interview.
To donate, discover your native Dress for Success affiliate by way of the principle Dress for Success website. Then click on on its web site to study when and the place to donate.
6. Free The Girls
Many ladies imagine in replacing their bras each six months. But these outdated bras can nonetheless serve a function. You can donate them to Free The Girls, which provides them to survivors of intercourse trafficking in locations like El Salvador, Uganda, and Mozambique. Selling the bras in secondhand marketplaces supplies these ladies with an revenue to help themselves and their households.
Free The Girls accepts bras of all sizes and types in good situation. You can donate up to 5 bras at a time through drop-off locations in most U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces. (Some places are presently closed due to COVID-19.)
Alternatively, you possibly can ship any variety of bras to the primary collection site. Whichever methodology you select, fill out the online bra donation form to register your donation. You may select to obtain a thank-you postcard by mail.
7. Goodwill
People going through monetary challenges develop their careers by way of Goodwill. Its career facilities present job coaching and assist with job-search expertise like writing resumes and getting ready for job interviews. Goodwill primarily funds these applications by way of its nationwide community of thrift shops, and you may help its work together with your clothes donation.
Goodwill accepts new and gently used garments for adults and kids. All garments are acceptable so long as they’re in good situation. It additionally accepts home goods, similar to furnishings, books, and residential decor. Merchandise it might’t promote will get recycled or handed on to salvage sellers to preserve them out of landfills.
You can donate to Goodwill at its shops or donation bins throughout the nation. You can discover the closest donation website by way of Goodwill’s website. The nonprofit additionally has a helpful valuation guide you need to use to estimate the worth of your donation for tax functions.
8. One Warm Coat
In freezing winter climate, an excellent coat can actually imply the distinction between life and dying. That’s why One Warm Coat collects winter coats and provides them to individuals in want. In its 2019 to 2020 season, it distributed greater than half 1,000,000 coats to individuals in all 50 states.
One Warm Coat accepts new and gently worn coats in clear and wearable situation. Adult and kids’s coats are all acceptable so long as they’re free from holes and stains.
The group will get most of its coats by way of coat drives held primarily in the course of the fall and winter months. You can seek for the closest coat drive on One Warm Coat’s website. As a bonus, clothes retailers like Eddie Bauer host many of those drives, providing reductions on new clothes gadgets in trade on your donation.
9. Planet Aid
Most charities that acquire used clothes settle for solely clothes in clear, wearable situation. But Planet Aid is completely different. It doesn’t need to discover new houses for garments or promote them to elevate money. Its aim is simply to preserve them out of landfills.
Accordingly, Planet Aid accepts all clothes — even attire with rips, holes, or stains — for adults and kids. It additionally collects sneakers and different textiles, similar to bedding. The solely issues it might’t settle for are soiled, moist, or moldy items.
It types the donated garments, with the perfect attire going to clothes drives and U.S. thrift shops. Then it sells the remainder to prospects in growing nations. These prospects type, value, and resell the clothes gadgets to low-income consumers. Eventually, all the things — even the broken items — is both bought or given away.
Planet Aid has a community of yellow drop-off bins across the nation. You can use the Planet Aid bin locator to discover one close to you. If there’s no bin in your space, you possibly can pack up to 70 kilos of clothes and different items in a field and print out a transport label to send it to Planet Aid through UPS or U.S. mail for a flat $15.
10. The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a non secular group that focuses closely on charitable work. Its many applications embody homeless shelters, meals pantries, alcohol and drug rehabs, Christmas toy drives, after-school applications, job coaching, and catastrophe aid. Its work helps veterans, kids, older individuals, survivors of home abuse, and the LGBTQ neighborhood.
To fund its drug rehab facilities, the Salvation Army operates an in depth community of thrift shops. It accepts donations of every kind of products, together with furnishings, family items, home equipment, and clothes for adults and kids.
Visit the Salvation Army website to discover a drop-off location or schedule a free pickup on-line. Like Goodwill, the Salvation Army has a donation value guide to allow you to calculate the tax deduction you possibly can take on your donation.
11. Soles4Souls
The mission of Soles4Souls is “turning shoes and clothing into opportunity.” It distributes new sneakers and clothes instantly to individuals in want within the U.S. and all over the world and ships used ones abroad to assist individuals in growing nations begin their very own small companies in resale.
Soles4Souls accepts all new and gently worn sneakers — each measurement, each model. There are two methods to donate:
- Deposit your sneakers at a drop-off location in your space. If you drop off sneakers for donation at a DSW store, you get bonus factors in your DSW membership card to apply towards a brand new buy.
- Ship up to 50 kilos’ price with a free pay as you go transport label from Zappos for Good.
Soles4Souls requests that you just fill out a donation form to enclose with every bag or field of sneakers you donate.
12. Vietnam Veterans of America
The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is an element charity, half political group. It supplies quite a few companies and help for veterans, together with monetary counseling, job placement, assist with claiming advantages, and training about bodily and psychological well being issues affecting vets. It additionally lobbies for higher well being take care of veterans.
The VVA collects clothes and home goods for 2 functions. It donates some gadgets to homeless and low-income vets and sells others in its resale shops to elevate funds for its varied applications. It accepts clothes, sneakers, and equipment of every kind.
There are two methods to donate to the VVA. You can schedule a pickup on the VVA website or use the identical website to find the closest drop-off location. Currently, there are drop-off factors in 23 U.S. states.
Where to Donate Clothes Locally
Along with these nationwide organizations, there are in all probability a number of charities in your native space that may settle for clothes donations. However, since every one is completely different, you have got to analysis to discover them and study what they settle for.
13. Places of Worship
Places of worship, similar to church buildings, usually maintain clothes drives to profit households in want. Sometimes, additionally they acquire used garments to resell in their very own thrift shops, utilizing the money to profit the church and its outreach applications.
Contact locations of worship in your space instantly to see in the event that they settle for clothes donations. Ask for particulars about what attire they want and the place to drop it off. Some church buildings have donation bins outdoors the constructing, whereas others acquire clothes at a particular location inside.
14. Community Outreach Centers
A neighborhood outreach heart is any group that instantly supplies companies to neighborhood members. These companies can embody training, social companies, well being care, and actions. Examples embody preschools, well being clinics, the YMCA and YWCA, home violence shelters, volunteer fireplace departments, and nursing houses.
Any of those various organizations might maintain clothes drives or collections to profit needy individuals in your space. Depending on the group, it would give attention to winter coats, faculty uniforms, different kids’s clothes, or ladies’s clothes. The good factor about donating to a neighborhood outreach heart is that you recognize your outdated garments will assist somebody in your area people.
15. Homeless Shelters and Missions
The major function of a homeless shelter or mission is to present individuals with a secure place to keep. But many shelters additionally present requirements like meals and clothes, and your outdated garments will help.
Winter coats and heat blankets are notably welcome in the course of the winter months to defend these most in danger from the chilly. Children’s clothes and clothes for job interviews may also be welcome. Check with native shelters to discover out what sort of attire they want.
16. School Clothing Drives
Many public colleges maintain meals and clothes drives, notably in the course of the vacation season, and move the donated gadgets on to charities. Hosting these occasions helps train the scholars concerning the worth of giving.
Contact colleges in your space to study upcoming clothes drives and the way to donate. You may ask in case your donation qualifies for a tax deduction earlier than you donate.
17. Thrift Stores
Not all thrift shops are nonprofits. But even donating to a neighborhood for-profit thrift store can do some good on your area people. Because thrift shops resell clothes at rock-bottom costs, they make it simpler for low-income households to afford the garments they want.
The unhealthy information is you possibly can’t get a tax break for dropping your undesirable garments off at a for-profit thrift retailer. The excellent news is it’s a approach to declutter your own home and assist individuals in your neighborhood.
Final Word
Donating your used clothes permits you to help charities when you possibly can’t donate money. No matter which charity you select, your unused garments will do extra good in a donation bin than sitting in your closet. Try to schedule a clear-out as soon as per year for everybody in your family. Donating yearly helps guarantee the garments you donate are nonetheless in model.
When you give to a charity, get a receipt that exhibits what clothes gadgets you gave and their situation. You’ll want it in order for you to declare a tax deduction on your donation. Keep the receipt together with your tax information to defend you in case the IRS audits you.
If you end up with used garments which can be too worn-out to donate, there’s nonetheless yet another various: textile recycling. Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles, or SMART, maintains a database of member companies that may recycle your outdated garments and preserve them out of the landfill.