It’s hard to imagine that where I live just north of New York City, there is affluence juxtaposed alongside children living with clothing and food insecurity. Along comes Deborah Blatt, a neighbor and friend from New Rochelle, who founded The Sharing Shelf to address and mitigate clothing insecurity for children in Westchester County.
I recently attended the annual fundraiser for The Sharing Shelf to show my support and to hear the fascinating guest panelists discuss the life cycle of clothing. I did not realize until a panelist explained that when we order multiple sizes of a piece of clothing from an online source to try on at home to find the best fit, the clothing we return (the “rejects”), more often than not, is NOT put back into circulation and gets tossed into landfills. Not cool! That is a solid argument for rethinking the try-on-at-home mentality.
Representatives from HELPSY and DELIVERING GOOD were two dynamic and informative panelists. Helpsy collects textiles and clothing for repurposing and recycling to keep them out of landfills. On average, they pick up 100,000 lbs of clothing weekly. Did you know that torn and stained clothing can be cleaned, shredded, and used as commercial padding furniture? I’ve shared information about Helpsy in the past, so please check out my post here to learn more.
Delivering Good is a nonprofit organization that distributes merchandise donated by brands to individuals facing poverty and disaster. When Ralph Lauren designs clothing that does not sell well and has excess inventory, the brand donates the surplus to Delivering Good for distribution to those in need worldwide. Delivering Good collaborates with over 800 nonprofits, and The Sharing Shelf is one of their partners.
Please consider donating your clothes to The Sharing Shelf. If they cannot use the clothing for their community, they will sell excess items to Helpsy as an alternative revenue stream for their charity. Proceeds from these sales help purchase new underwear and socks for children (because no one wants to wear used underwear and socks, right?), diapers for infants and toddlers, toiletry kits, period products, and school supplies.
I hope you will join me in supporting The Sharing Shelf. It’s one of those special charities that directly helps members of our community right here in Westchester County.
