During wintertime, it's great to be clothes-minded

By Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza
FACTS

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20 billion pounds of clothing and textiles are thrown away every year in the United States. That's an average of 68 pounds per person.

1.5 billion pairs of unworn or barely worn shoes are lying in closets.

More than 35 million people live in poverty and have limited money to purchase new clothes.

On average, 3 million men, women and children are homeless at some point each year.

50 percent of all homeless women and children are fleeing domestic violence, usually with only the clothes on their backs.

With the colder months coming, clothes are needed more than ever.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

1. Contact a local shelter or organization that receives clothing donations and ask about specific clothing needs.

2. Look through your closet for clothing, coats, shoes, blankets, pillows, purses, briefcases, umbrellas and scarves that are in good condition and that you haven't used in a year or more.

3. Organize a clothing drive at work, school, your place of worship or in your neighborhood.

4. Wash or dry-clean items. Don't donate items that are stained or torn.

5. Fold and pack clothing in boxes, attach appropriate labels, then deliver them. Or consider giving directly to a homeless person.

Donating clothes is one of the easiest ways to affect someone's life in a very tangible and significant way. You can help someone stay warm, have shoes without holes, dress properly for a job interview or don a new outfit for school. Do you really need all those clothes filling up your closet? Millions of other people do.

YOU MATTER

Felix Holland of Denver did something that inspired hundreds of his co-workers and changed the lives of even more people in need. With winter fast approaching, Felix organized a coat drive at the company where he works as an executive assistant.

"In about two weeks, I must have seen 20 homeless people, and it just hit me really hard. It's not like I haven't seen homeless people around our community before, but this time, it was different. I had to do something," Felix shared.

He came up with a simple yet effective idea. "I decided to organize a coat drive at my company. With the snow coming soon, coupled with the fact that I own so many jackets that I never even wear, I knew I could gather a bunch of jackets to help people who needed them."

And Felix did just that. He sent out a company memo with simple instructions. He asked people to go through their closets to look for coats, pants, shoes, hats, blankets or anything else that could help people stay warm during the winter. Then he told them to put them in garbage bags and bring them to work on a specific day. To make it easier for people, he told them to just leave the bags of clothes in the parking lot behind their cars and he would go around and pick them up.

"I was blown away by the response. It was honestly a very emotional sight to walk out into the parking lot to find over 100 bags lying on the ground behind the cars. It made me proud to work with such giving people," he said.

After collecting and sorting everything, Felix made arrangements with local shelters and employment centers to disperse the clothing accordingly. Some of the organizations even came and picked up the items.

"I don't know what it was that finally opened my eyes to this need, but I am very grateful for it," Felix said. "I know I can't solve the problem, but at least we brought some comfort and care to the situation."

Felix, you definitely warmed a lot of hearts that day ... and not just the hearts of the people who ended up receiving the clothes. You Matter.

Please visit EveryMondayMatters.com to get involved, buy the book or share your stories about making a difference in the world.