Home Host A Clothes Drive
What is a Clothes Drive Exactly? And Who Can Get Involved?
It is when a person or a group of people gather clothing from friends, family, local business and/or large corporations and distribute the collected items to those in need. And anyone can get involved–young or old.
What Type of Clothing?
Clean, gently used clothing of all sorts and sizes are always in demand. Infants, children, adults; tops, bottoms, sweaters, shoes; summer, winter wear…everything!
How Can I Help?
→ Check out the postings in the Events page to see a list of food drives happening in your neighborhood. You can clean out your cupboard and closets and donated any item that you or a family member have outgrown or no longer wear.
→ Don’t see a clothes drive near you? Then it’s a good time for you to organize a drive of your own! It’s simple and rewarding. Below, read more about ORGANIZING A CLOTHES DRIVE ~ Make a Difference!
→ Or if you have clothes you would like to donate, but don’t see a donation center near you, and at this time, you cannot organize a drive, contact us, and we’ll put you in contact with someone who can assist you.
ORGANIZING A CLOTHES DRIVE ~ Make a Difference!
Here’s a chance for you to make a big difference with a little effort. We’ll even help you advertise your clothes drive in our Events page if you are part of an organization. Click here to register as an organization and then post your event. Meanwhile, here are some tips for a successful drive:
→ Choose an organization/group you believe needs clothing.
There are many orphanages that desperately need clothing as well as lower-income sectors with families who are unable to provide for themselves. If you don’t have a particular organization in mind, the Ramautar & Ajit Vatsayan Foundation can distribute your collected donations for you.
→ Pick an ideal date.
Choose a date that works best for you and your schedule. Also consider other upcoming events and holidays, so that they don’t conflict with the clothes drive.
→ Let people know what you’re doing.
Advertise your event by telephone, email, posters (homemade posters are perfectly acceptable–no need to incur any expenses). Ask all your friends and families to tell all their friends and families. Word-of-mouth is a great way to get the news out and inform people of this worthwhile cause.
→ Get your friends and families involved.
Ask if your spouse or parent would collect from co-workers. Ask your children or siblings if they could collect at school. Ask if your social group would collect from their friends and families.
→ Have a collection container.
A bin or box to hold the donations or bags to collect the clothing if it’s a one-day event. This will keep the clothing clean and dry as well as make it easier for you to transport it to the recipient.
→ Remind everyone of the collection date.
You may have given a couple weeks notice to allow your friends and family to go through their closets for unused clothing to donate as well as for the news to travel around. Some may have forgotten about the bag of clothes waiting in the cupboard for donation (or those who were waiting for the day of the event).
→ Have helping hands on the day of collection.
Or if you are collecting often during a period of time, it’s good to have someone to help with the sorting, packaging and loading. If you are handing the donation to the Ramautar & Ajit Foundation to distribute the clothes, a volunteer from our organization will pick up and deliver the clothes.
→ Let us know all about it!
We love to hear success stories. Please share with us your experience to help motivate others…don’t forget to send photos. Share Your Experience