Assisting Military Families, Our American Duty
Those who choose to serve our country are required to sacrifice a lot. They are required to spend many months away from home, training for their specific branch of the military. They are then often relocated. Eventually, they may be sent overseas to protect the freedom of our country. They are likely to go many months without seeing or talking to their family members. They will miss things like their children being born or going off to school for the first time. They will miss holidays and family events. They do all of this to ensure that our country remains free. There are ways that civilians can help these men and women out, without ever leaving the safety and freedom of their home.
Support for military families is important. Many military families have their loved ones overseas for months at a time. Assisting these families is important to ensure those fighting overseas that their families are well taken care of. Sometimes the support for military families comes after they have left the service. Many soldiers and their families are left to struggle with financial and medical concerns after they have left the service.
Retired military men and women often experience higher unemployment rates and thus, need additional assistance. The unemployment rate for veterans in the United States is 2% above the national average for regular citizens.
Charities exist that help these military families out. They provide support for military families in a variety of ways. One of the most popular and easiest forms of support is in the form of charitable clothing donations. Any type of charitable donation is helpful in these charities mission to assist military families, but clothing donations are an easy, low effort way for people to help. Even those families without a lot of extra money tend to have unwanted clothing items.
The average American purchases 10 pounds of previously used clothing each year in the United States. These clothing purchases rely on the donations of people. A clothes donation can help provide support for military families in many ways. The charities for military families use the donated clothing to provide free and needed clothing to retired military men and women or to the families of those in the service. The donated clothing items may also be used to create a small profit, using that money to assist with other needs, like medical costs, educational costs and shelter fees.
The recovery rate for used clothing and textiles in 2011 was an estimated 15.3% in the United States. That means a huge percentage of used clothing is getting thrown away. These thrown away clothing items can provide a lot of help for these charities that are providing support for military families. Some people may be hesitant to donate some of their clothing items, unsure if they are in good enough shape for donations. However, it is often best to leave the choice to the charity. They will go through all of your used clothing donations, collecting the items that can be reused. Clothing that is rarely worn or is practically new is always a good item to donate to the charities.
Many charities make it even easier to donate by providing pick up services. Charities that pick up clothing donations will arrange a pick up time with you. They will bring their own large pick up van, for easy transport. Sometimes, they will even do all of the lifting and transporting for you. This makes it very convenient to donate unwanted clothing and other items to these charities.
Those serving in the military sacrifice a lot for our freedom. It is our duty, as Americans to assist them in any way possible. Some may not have extra money available for donations, but even donating used clothing items can help. The used clothing items can be provided to those military families who are in need or they can be used for profits to help out the military families in other ways. Many charities make it extremely convenient to donate your used clothing by offering pick up services that do all the work for you.
