It is very difficult to decide the value of charitable donations in our world today. On the one hand, you can talk about what a single item or a group of items is worth monetarily, but on the other hand, you never really know what an item you might not have any use for anymore could do to change the life of a person in need. In addition, you might not have any idea how much donating some old clothing instead of throwing it away can do for the environment.
In 2006, people donated clothing in large numbers and by doing so kept 2.5 billion pounds of fabric from the landfills. These used clothes that were donated were sold in used clothing stores and much of the money made from the sale of these items went directly to helping disabled veterans, helping families in need, and helping military families.
There are just under 5 billion pounds of clothing donated by Americans every year. In 2014, the total giving to charitable organizations was $358.38 billion dollars. A good portion of that money was taken in from monetary donations, but the donation of items and clothing make up a very large annual portion.
You might be ready to give your used clothing away, but you might also be wondering if you can be certain it will actually go to helping people who are truly in need. The value of charitable donations may not be able to be seen in the clothing and used items themselves, but in the money that is made by the charitable organizations that sell the items and then use the money that is made to directly help the poor and those who are most in need.
The next time you decide to go through your drawers or your closet and evaluate what you have and what you really need, take a moment or two and really consider what you might be able to donate. For many, something that you no longer feel fits you well or is no longer fashionable will be something that they can wear for quite a long time. Some of those old clothes that have not seen the light of day for many years could be the very clothes that keep someone else warm in the winter months.
The value of charitable donations might not seem like much to you when you receive a receipt to use for your tax deduction purposes, but it would only take just a little bit of investigation before you realized that there are so many different ways that your charitable donation is going towards making someone else’s life better.
