What Items Should I Donate to a Homeless Shelter?

By the close of 2015, there were more than 500,000 homeless individuals in the United States. But according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), approximately 1.49 million people made use of homeless shelters in 2014.

Homeless shelters and other organizations like food drives and soup kitchens help those struggling with low income or homelessness constantly. Any help they receive is much appreciated, no matter the form it comes in, though a monetary donation to a food drive can feed up to 20 times the number of families that a donation of food can.
 
But food drives aren’t the only places where donations can help. Clothing donations are just as important. While only around 20% of donated clothing actually ends up on shelves for sale, an estimated 3.8 billion pounds of donated clothing is recycled annually. So even though it may not appear on donation center shelves, your contribution will still be repurposed in some way.

According to a report by Giving USA, the average U.S. household donated approximately $2,030 to their cause of choice in 2015. Donations like these are truly a sign of people doing their part to help others.