How to Organize a Clothing Drive

Clean out your drawers and closets, have fun with friends and contribute to a worthy cause by setting up a used clothing drive for a local hospital, halfway house or disaster relief shelter. Organize the event to gather more goods with a lot less stress.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Ask if your charity of choice will pick up donations, if contributors can drop off clothing on their own or if you'll need to deliver items in a single batch. Even if the organization will send a truck for the garments, you'll need to find a place to store them until the pick up date. Consider your garage or the storeroom of a local church or business if they're willing to help.

2. Determine what types of items the charity will and will not accept and if there are any garments in high demand like children's jackets or men's pants. Create flyers with the information, as well as the drop off times and location so your friends can also pass them out to co-workers, neighbors and family members who want to contribute.

3. Gather boxes to pack the items for delivery. Ask the produce manager of a local grocery store if he has any spare "apple boxes" to donate to the cause. You'll be able to pack and stack those with minimal effort.

4. Choose a drop off location with easy access to make it convenient for contributors. Have several volunteers on hand to sift through the items as soon as you receive them so you won't have to do it later. Organize the items into categories like accessories, shoes and clothing grouped by gender, season and size.

5. Hand out a value guide to the people who contributed clothing to help them estimate deductions for the charitable donations on their taxes. (See Resources)

Resources

• Help contributors calculate deductions for taxes.