I went to Cradles to Crayons on March 2nd and volunteered.
I volunteered to sort through a large amount of donated clothing; I was in charge of boys’ and girls’ clothes, about 2-6 years old. Some of the clothes still had tags on them and were clean. While I was impressed that such a large amount of clothes were being donated, I also realized that many people cannot afford to buy enough clothes for themselves. I have a niece. My brother told me that children’s clothes change sizes quickly and are expensive, but that he could never dress his own children in old clothes that he did not know who had used. So I can only imagine the hardships faced by the parents who receive the children’s clothing donated here. The clothes are sorted into long-sleeved, short-sleeved, outerwear, and pants, as well as women’s and men’s, and the sorting process alone requires several steps. In other words, a lot of manpower is required. On the day I volunteered, there were about 10 other female volunteers in addition to us, and they seemed to be regular participants. There were also several staff members. They said they were paid somewhat, unlike the volunteers. However, I believe that their presence is helping the poor.
I learned the importance of volunteering and the significance of participating in this volunteer program. People support each other in life. In the U.S., people are more familiar with volunteerism than in Japan, and many people participate in volunteer activities. This is probably one of the reasons that the fact that there are poorer people in the U.S. than in Japan. I sincerely hope that volunteer activities will become more familiar to people in Japan, even if they are not for the poor.
Kaho Matsumura
