Clothing the world

When you think of the basic needs of life, shelter and food immediately come to mind.  There is a third very important need too, and that is clothing.  Some of us have WAY more than we need, while others can hardly cover themselves.  There are shelters for the homeless and meal programs too, but we don't hear as much about the clothing.

 

Years ago I belonged to a church that had a large barrel into which members of the parish would dump their clean unneeded clothing.  It was pretty simply.  You emptied your closets of things you no longer needed or wanted and brought them to the barrel.  We visitors came to the church they searched through the barrel for things that might work for them.  Of course there was no charge.  Some places with sufficient space have more elaborate programs where clothes are sorted and placed on tables, shelves, and racks and in addition to receiving donations from members, they also do clothing drives, seeking to increase their inventory with donations from around the neighborhood.

 

I recently heard about some wonderful organizations that are also helping to clothe the world.  One is called World Clothesline and I invite you to visit their website to find out more about them http://www.worldclothesline.com/ - you can buy some really nice things, which also helps them to reach more people. They match every item sold with a new item for someone in need.

 

Stores operated by The Society of St Vincent De Paul, Goodwill, Out Of the Closet, and others sell clothes at very reduced prices.  Often they will have brand new, never before worn clothing.  They rely on donations too.

 

So here is the word I have used over and over - donation.  These clothing programs work because people donate.  So it comes down to all of us.  We have the power to cloth the world.  We simply have to do something.  Oh donations can come in many forms.  We can give our own clothes or collect clothes from others.  We can donate money to help pay for necessary supplies or to buy new clothes.  We can also donate our time to help make these programs run.  So let's all pitch in - we can clothe the world - we can change the world!