Charity Clothes Bank continues to serve underprivileged families amid pandemic

AMMAN — Charity Clothes Bank (CCB) has benefited around 1,150,000 underprivileged families since the beginning of its establishment, its director Rawan Masadeh told The Jordan Times.

Established in 2013 by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), it has thus far distributed over 5.6 million clothing articles, both used and new, to underprivileged families, from the donation of used clothes and new voluntary contributions.

The bank selects its beneficiaries in cooperation with the National Aid Fund, which has a database of impoverished households across the Kingdom, Masadeh added.

The CCB receives clothes donations from citizens and businesses, with each donor receiving an official letter of acknowledgement to facilitate tax deduction.

The CCB teams process clothes before they are distributed to two main halls in the Kingdom, one in Amman and the other in Karak, according to Masadeh.

 Nevertheless, Masadeh noted that the CCB cooperates with other charities across the Kingdom to esnure access to its services and to deliver packages to those who cannot reach either hall.  

The CCB has approximately 100 donation stations inside major shopping centres. Subsequentially, clothes are collected and delivered to the CCB warehouse prior to getting sorted and cleaned with the help of volunteers, Masadeh added. 

“We have around 6,000 volunteers during the year,” she noted, and “over the years, we have had more than half a million donors in total”.

Masadeh further noted that the CCB receives much support from major companies and hotels who not only donate clothes but also help in the process of cleaning them.

The CCB contacts underprivileged families, sets an appointment with them, and ensures that they are always respected and well treated. “Families usually wait 15 to 20 minutes before entering the show room,” she noted.

“The distribution is based on the number of members in the family. Toys and other home needs are also distributed. The beneficiary can come again after six months,” Masadeh added.

Before the pandemic the CCB used to welcome 150 families a day three times a week, but now the number is reduced to 70 families a day due to health measures, according to Masadeh. 

Masadeh further highlighted that before the pandemic the CCB used to serve beneficiaries of the National Aid Fund only but now it goes beyond in its strife to help the needy.