Have you ever de-cluttered your home and as you pack donations for Fayette Cares you think “a stained shirt is better than no shirt” or “surely someone could use this ragged couch.” If so, your heart is in the right place but you might be doing more harm than good.
It’s hard to imagine, but far too often Fayette Cares receives items that would usually be destined for the landfill. When donations are dirty, damaged, or missing parts they really hurt our mission. Costly disposal fees take funds away from those we serve. And without a pickup service, a handful of volunteers donate their time, trucks, gas, and muscles to make occasional collections. But it’s hard to keep volunteers when they come face-to-face with a soiled mattress in the hot attic of a three-story house!
When you give gently loved, clean, and ready to use clothing, furniture, and housewares, you truly bless those we serve. At Fayette Cares your donations may be given directly to a mother and her children when they flee abuse and have to leave behind all they own, or a family who lost their home in a fire, or perhaps a homeless man coming to live in our shelter. We can also sell items in our charitable thrift shop to raise money for shelter, food, and other crisis interventions. We even hire clients so they can learn job skills, earn income, and meet our caring donors.
When considering the good your gift could do, check to see if the items are broken, stained, or needing repair. If so, perhaps it’s hurting the mission instead of helping.
Click to learn about donation drop off and charity thrift shop locations or call (901) 465-3802 x 226 for information.
Click here to view a list of articles from the 2018 Summer Newsletter
