Americans are generous people. Every year, they donate a lot in the way of their time, their money and their stuff. One way to give back to your community and help people who need it is to donate clothes to Red Cross centers in your area. The American Red Cross is one of the best known charities in the country. In 2014, ordinary people gave about $687 million. It can be easy to see the good people do when they make used clothing donations or donate clothes to any charity but there are some ways these acts of giving help the person on the giving end of the equation.
- Making donations to charity makes people feel great. When you donate clothes to Red Cross centers, you get back a nice, warm and fuzzy feeling. Part of that is the feeling of empowerment that helping other people gives you. In so many parts of our lives, we are powerless to help or impact the lives of others. When you make clothes donations, you are directly helping someone who needs it. This also has an impact on the part of your brain that registers pleasure. Some studies show that this is a big motivator for many people who donate time, money or items to charity. One survey showed that about 42% of people who make charitable donations do it because of how good it makes them feel.
- A person’s morality increases when they donate to charity. A full 98% of people who make some kind of donation to charity say they do it out of a moral obligation to do so. Altruism like this can be seen all over the animal kingdom and some scientists have found that acting this way to help others made be hard wired in people and animals. Often people feel that it is a privilege that they are able to help other people. When we act on those thoughts, we reinforce the feeling that we should do these things more and more often.
- Your impact, when you give, can be great. Never before have people been able to help so much by donating so little. More and more charities are working to do more with less and many put most of what they get back into the services they provide. When you donate clothes to Red Cross centers, some of those items will be given to people in need. What is not given away can be sold in a gift shop to cover the administrative costs the organization incurs every year. If you are concerned that your donation will only go to overhead and not to people and families in need, you can look around for a charity with the lowest amount of administrative spending.
- You set a good example for others. When you donate clothese to Red Cross centers in your area, you show your kids, friends, family and coworkers that you can make a positive impact in your community for people around you. You can spread the goodwill by organizing a donation drive at home, at school or at work and work out a Red Cross clothing pickup, which can make it much easier for everyone to get involved. You can even turn it into a contest. When you do this at your place of business, you can use these actions to get good publicity for your organization or company, which will magify the impact in your community. More peope will be inspired to do good in the community when they see what you are doing.
- Get money back from Uncle Sam.The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) gives people back money on their tax bill when they make donations to charity. The donations can be cash but they also lower your bill when you donate clothes to Red Cross donation centers in your area. If you are not sure how much you will give over the course of the year, you should get back a receipt every single time you give. That will make it easier to do your taxes at the end of the year.
One of the best feelings you can get during the holidays, or anytime, is that you have helped someone else. This is a win-win thing to do.
