Stained Underwear & Other Donations Nightmares.
The Indian-American charity ClothesForHelp.org is fed up of being treated by some people as a garbage dumpster when it comes to its clothes donation program and is pulling no punches in its new and provocative awareness campaign: Would You Wear This?
After six years of collecting and delivering 13,000+ bags of clothes, we’ve come across some pretty scary stuff and we’ve wondered how on earth some people think these items are acceptable to give to others. With this campaign, we hope to remind some donors to please extend basic human decency and dignity to those in need.
Whether in India, Africa or even in neighborhoods across the U.S, Europe and other developed nations, always ask yourself the following question first before donating: Would I or my family wear what’s in the bag? If the answer is no, then no other human being deserves it either.
Generosity Gone Bad.
Torn t-shirts, socks with holes, dresses with faded colors, ripped bed-sheets and yes, even bras and stained underwear have come their way. The items are often found among clothes donations intended for families living in poverty. Items which are not only embarrassing, but also useless and demeaning to those who receive them.
Charities often depend on limited resources and volunteers to carry on their work. For a typical donated-clothes charity, coordination logistics usually involve: transportation, rental of trucks, gas expenses, staff, volunteers and even the recipient families who often sort and organize the items before distribution. When a significant portion of the donations are practically garbage, all the time, effort and funds employed towards it are gone forever, costing the charity money and lowering the positive impact of their work.
It’s admirable to see so many folks come forward to help others in need by cleaning up their closets of unwanted items, but the sentiment turns bitter when folks who spent countless hours sorting the donations run into some really disgusting stuff.
ClothesForHelp.org hopes to reach the hearts and minds of its donors with a simple message a simple message: Just because someone is giving something away it does not mean it’s automatically good or that it should be accepted, remember the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This program is currently only available in the cities of Kolkata & Pune in India. Because international shipping rates are generally high, overseas donations become counterproductive so we invite international supporters to consider donating online instead at: www.responsiblecharity.org/donate
ClothesForHelp.org is a program operated by the Indian-American NGO: Responsible Charity. If you live in Kolkata or Pune and would like to participate, please visit:
