Millions of American soldiers put their lives on the line every day and in the line of duty, many servicemen and women are injured. There are an estimated 22 million military veterans living in the U.S. as of 2014.
Many veterans are in need of a great deal of help. Fortunately, there are organizations in the United States like Purple Heart Pickup and Wounded Warrior Project who accept donations for military veterans and their families. In 2018 alone, the Purple Heart Foundation estimates that it helped more than 19,000 veterans secure more than $200 million in benefits.
When it comes to donations, a little can go a long way. There are many reasons to donate clothing and other for causes like Purple Heart clothing donations. By donating folks are doing a good deed for a lot of people who are greatly appreciative.
Keeping that in mind, here are five good reasons to consider making Purple Heart clothing donations for veterans and military families:
- The average American buys at least twice as many pieces of clothing as 20 years ago and only 15% of used clothing is donated on average. That means there’s a lot of clothing you’re probably not wearing that can be recycled.
- About 4.7 billion pounds of clothing are donated by Americans each year, but about 10.5 million tons of clothing end up in landfills annually.
- The average American throws away nearly 70 pounds of clothing, linens and textiles each year. Textiles account for 5% of municipal waste because only about 15% of them are ever recycled.
- Almost 100% of household textiles and clothing can be recycled regardless of condition. So for example, if you haven’t worn an item in six months, donating it might be a good option.
- In 2006, 2.5 billion pounds of fabric were kept from landfills by used-clothing purchases and 45% of recycled clothing is worn as secondhand clothing.
This may all seem like a pile of statistics, but it highlights the good things that can be done when you donate clothing. When you do something like making Purple Heart clothing donations, you’re putting essential items in the hands of those who need it the most.
Making Purple Heart clothing donations can also have some tax benefits. Any charitable donation worth more than $250 (including donations of clothing and household items) will require a receipt to write off on your taxes. Keep in mind that items like a coffee maker or an overcoat have value in terms of a write-off.
Making donations to those in need, especially military veterans is something most folks seem to get on board with. More than $350 billion was made in charitable donations in 2014. Social media has played an important role in recent years in terms of donations. A majority (70%) of social media users would take some kind of action in response to a friend posting a story about making a charitable donation or trying to gather their friends in a call to action.
If you want to donate clothing, donate money or do something else to help veterans, there are many organizations that can help. Make sure before you donate that you know where the money’s going so it winds up in the hands of those who need it. Donations can be a huge help to military families and veterans, but there are many other things a person can do to show support:
- You can volunteer to place flag on grave sites.
- You can reach out to local military families in your community.
- You can visit with military families or veterans to offer a helping hand.
- You can go an old-fashioned route and write a letter of thanks to a family or a veteran.
There are a lot of things the average person can do to help military veterans and those in need. Whether you donate clothing, money, household items or time to help veterans, you’re doing a very good deed for people who deserve our help.
