How Your Unwanted Clothing Can Help a Needy Veteran
Imagine that you or a loved one won the Purple Heart, the US military decoration awarded by the President to those wounded or killed during military service. You return home only to face a new battle: finding work and now you and your family struggle even to put clothes on your back. This is the heartbreaking reality for many veterans. It is easy to take our clothing for granted; often wardrobes are lined with clothing that doesn’t fit anymore, slithers the price tag on or only gets pulled out very occasionally. Yet those forgotten clothes could be a lifesaver for those in need — especially our veterans.
Worryingly, the veteran unemployment rate in the United States sat at almost 10% during 2012 and is 2% above the national average for other citizens. Younger veteran (18 to 24 years old) were in a n even worse position, with an unemployment rate of over 20% in 2012. More than 200,000 recent veterans were seeking work unsuccessfully as of March 2013. Even if you are able to find work as a veteran, it is often still a struggle with almost 30% of military families being burdened with $10,000 or more in credit card debt. Clothing donation can play a significant role in aiding veterans and their families who may not have the resources to address clothing needs.
Clothing donations pick up services can make donating excess clothing even easier because donors do not need to find time to drive to the charity shop. This makes donating more convenient and less time consuming. Military charities are always looking for clothing donations and often offer such clothing donations pick up services. Americans are already a generous bunch, donating close to $6 billion worth of clothing to charities in 2007. More than 2 million tons of clothing and textiles were donated or recycled in the US in 2011. Despite this the recovery rate for textiles and clothing sat at just 15.3% in 2011. Americans throw away more than 12 million tons of clothing each year, 90% of which could have been recycled or reused.
Opting for charitable donation over throwing away or even just letting it sit unused in your closet can make all the difference to a needy veteran and his or her family.