It’s officially the time of year when the sun stays out for longer, outdoor activities pick up, and life in general just feels a bit lighter – including your closet. With spring cleaning in full swing, the looming question is: what do I do with these things I no longer need?

Thankfully, Mary’s Center’s robust in-kind donation program can provide a solution to the hardest part of spring cleaning. At Mary’s Center, we aim to support families in all aspects of wellness which includes assisting with day-to-day necessities, including clothing, books, household supplies, and more. Thanks to the consistent supply of in-kind donations from community members, we are able to provide our participants with these gently loved items through free-to-pick-from closets at our sites, or directly distributed by our programs staff.

However, we often receive clothing and other items that our participants can’t directly use due to their condition. Instead of sending these items to the landfill, our partnership with B-Thrifty allows these items to be sold in thrift stores, recycled, or repurposed. Through B-Thrifty’s collection program, Project B Green, these items are picked up directly from Mary’s Center or our in-kind donors’ homes and transported to a sorting facility. The best part is that these donations boost Mary’s Center’s overall impact by raising critical funds for our mission. Mary’s Center receives funds for every pound of clothing donated to Project B Green. We are extremely grateful for our partnership with B-Thrifty and their commitment to sustainability by repurposing clothes and items we cannot use and keeping them out of landfills.

Our partners at B-Thrifty shared their appreciation for our longtime collaboration: “This mutually beneficial partnership began in 2013 and has flourished over the past decade by raising thousands of dollars for Mary’s Center through the collection of gently used donated clothing, shoes, and household items. These items are processed and monetized to assist Mary’s Center in their mission to build better futures through the delivery of healthcare, education, and social services. The donations made to Mary’s Center create change in the lives of so many people. Most recently, Project B Green received 15 donated refurbished desktop computers from a non-profit organization and was able to provide them to Mary’s Center. The desktop computers are planned to be installed at Mary’s Centers Senior Wellness Centers and in their Teen Program room. All of us at B-Thrifty and Project B Green are very honored to be partnered with Mary’s Center. We greatly appreciate the constant communication and collaboration!”

In addition, Mary’s Center staff held our own spring-cleaning drive earlier this month to collect items in our homes to be distributed to participants and donated to B-Thrifty. If you’d like to donate your gently used items this spring, or any time of the year, follow the directions below. When we come together as a community, we are able to change people’s lives for the better.

To schedule a drop-off or for more information, please contact Lauren Shutler by emailing lshutler@maryscenter.org or calling 202-527-0943.