Clothing Donations Help Fight PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse are a problem for many of the people who witness the horrors of war in service to their country. The Vietnam Veterans Association (VVA) stages town hall meetings throughout the United States to encourage veterans of all conflicts to get help if they are dealing with depression, abusing alcohol or other substances, or having thoughts of suicide. And that’s just one of the many veterans’ initiatives that your generous donations to ClothingDonations.org help fund, so you can feel twice as good about cleaning out your closets.

Dedicate Your Donations to Veteran Benefits

With the help of donations of lightly used clothing, household items and other goods to ClothingDonations.org, the Vietnam Veterans Association (VVA) represents the nation’s 21.5 million veterans in Washington, D.C., to ensure that every one can access all of the compensation and medical benefits to which they are entitled. In addition, the association helps veterans one-on-one in filing VA claims, achieving financial independence and more. Your donations can go a long way toward fulfilling the promises the country has made to the men and women who serve.

Donations Offer Veterans Direct Support

Donations of used clothing and household goods made to ClothingDonations.org are resold to thrift and secondhand stores throughout the country, with the proceeds going toward funding veterans’ programs at a hyperlocal level. With the help of the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Association, for example, more than 30 homeless veterans in Northern Virginia received Veterans Administration Supportive Housing (VASH) program gift cards to assist in finding stable housing during the holidays, and still more received grants to cover sudden financial emergencies.

It’s Garage Sale Season—Are You Ready?

With Memorial Day already behind us, it’s time to look forward to other summertime activities. One of the most popular summer traditions is the neighborhood garage sale. It’s time to reward the hard work you did while spring cleaning and organizing your home, and give the unneeded items you found while cleaning a new home.

If you’re participating in your neighborhood garage sale, the process of organizing your sale items can be daunting and overwhelming. But, despite the potential stress, attracting shoppers to your treasures is also part of the fun! You need to strategize and develop a plan, which is where we come in to help.

In the weeks before your sale, go through each room of your home with a box. If you find unused and unopened cooking utensils in your kitchen drawers, place them in the box. If there are shelves of unread, or already read, books in your home, it’s time to put new price tags on them. Then, tackle your bedroom and closet. Is there furniture in your bedroom that you’re not using (old dressers, desks, etc.)? Are there clothes in your closet that you haven’t worn in years? Add them to the box. Going room by room will make your garage sale planning more organized and stress-free!

When it comes time to have the sale, you know that you have great items—but do your potential customers? Make sure to have plenty of prominent signage. Get creative, and have fun with your ads! Consider having refreshments (like water or lemonade) available for guests if it’s hot outside. For parents bringing young children along, be sure to have a station or area where children can color or play board games. These are just a few ways to make sure your sale stands out even more!

Not everything will sell, of course. But, don’t despair! If you have leftover items that didn’t sell, do not bring them back into your home where they’ll just sit in boxes and collect dust for another year. Avoid the clutter and do a good deed at the same time by donating these items to us! ClothingDonations.org will pick up your donations for you, making it incredibly easy for you to keep a clean, clutter-free home for the summer. Even better, your donation will help fund our veterans programs. You can visit our website for more details and to schedule your donation pickup time.

Happy Garage Sale-ing!

Donations That Go A Long Way

Don’t want the hassle of a garage sale this season? This is still a great time to go through each room to find items you no longer need or want. If they’re gently used, don’t throw them out 一 donate them to us! ClothingDonations.org takes a variety of donations, including clothes, shoes, kitchenware, cooking utensils, books, and movies. Your donations help fund our veterans programs. Learn more about our donation services here.