Donating Unwanted Clothing to the Right Local Charity

Donating your unwanted clothing to a local charity will clean your closet and help others!

unwanted clothing after you have finished cleaning is another challenge.

After your closet has been de-cluttered and your unwanted clothing identified, it is time to pack up some boxes and donate the clothing to a local charity. Donating your clothing to a local charity or local organization, rather than simply tossing the clothing into a dumpster, will provide you will some altruistic satisfaction and an organized closet.  The right local charity will make sure that your donated clothing is used to help support a good cause and help those in need.

After you make the decision to donate your unwanted clothing to a local charity to benefit those in your area, you must determine a cause worth donating for, such as supporting your local animal shelter, local veteren's association, or local homeless shelter. You should also know which local charity you want to donate your clothing to and how to donate your unwanted clothing to this specific local charity. The following article posted on ehow.com by contributing author Tim Burris will walk you through the steps of donating your unwanted clothing to a local charity.

There are many non-profit organizations that accept donations of food, clothing and household items either to directly provide to the needy, or to resell the items in order to benefit the less fortunate. Some organizations can be as small as a local church or community group, or much larger as is the case with national charitable organizations. As with donations of time, talent and money, if you have unwanted clothing that you would like to donate, you should take into consideration several factors before making a final decision.

Charities have different groups they benefit. Some organizations focus on impoverished areas or individuals. Others focus on workforce development for specific communities. Decide how you would like your donation to help.

Find out if your donation will stay local. Some charities, like those associated with your local church, support the community in which you live. Other larger organizations may spread out resources to other communities with a larger need. If you want your donation to benefit your own community, make sure the benefits will be received by your community.

Prepare your clothes for donation by making sure they are clean, undamaged and easy to transport. Put your unwanted clothes in a garbage bag for easy transportation.

Find out the location of the nearest donation site. Charities often have specific locations where they will accept donations. Some charities offer pick up at your home with advance notice, though these can be limited based on their resources.

Find out if the charity you donate to can provide you with a receipt for tax purposes. You may be able to write off your donation on your tax return. Check with your tax adviser for specific details and limits on deductions.

• Make sure to catalog your donations in case you do not get a receipt. You may be able to claim a tax deduction anyway. Check with your tax adviser.
• Make sure the charity is legitimate and has a good history, either nationally or in your community. There are fraudulent organizations.

Some local charities will pick up the boxes of clothing you are donating right from your doorstep, some local charities have drop-off boxes in designated locations that you can inquire about or locate online, and other local charities require you to bring the clothing you are donating to the organization’s physical location. Below are a few online charity directories that can be very helpful when you are making your decision to donate clothing, or other used items, to a specific local charity in Connecticut. With these online charity directories, you are able to refine your search for a local charity by the area, charity name, or cause.  Furthermore, you can view what types of clothing articles are accepted by a local charity, where the local charity is located, if the local charity offers pick-up services for your donate clothing, and how to go about donating clothing to the particular local charity.

• Uscity.net provides a Connecticut Charity Directory, enabling you to find a local charity in Connecticut.
• Donationdropoff.org has compiled a complete list of donation sites, donation centers, and donation drop-off bins in Connecticut.
• Charity-charities.org provides a Charity Vault where local charities in Connecticut can be searched for by name, category, and city.