If you’ve been thinking about helping others in your community, you have plenty of options to choose from. Many people know that helping families in need is the best way to start, but it can be tough to narrow down exactly who needs the most help. While there’s no right or wrong answer to this dilemma, there is one population you could consider working with: veterans and military families.

Helping disabled veterans and their families is a great way to give back to your country. You might think, “But I don’t know any veterans,” and this isn’t a problem. You can check out charities in your area that help military families and see if they need help. In fact, some of the charity organizations that work with these groups might surprise you.

Once you’ve found an organization you’d like to work with, here are three things you can do to focus on helping disabled veterans and their families:

• Serving and/or Donating Food: Everyone needs food in order to survive, but for those who are having trouble finding work, it can be difficult to feed a family. Many charities will serve foods in their facilities or send delivery persons out to give food to those in need. If your favorite charity doesn’t provide this service, though, see if they collect canned and boxed foods to hand out at a food bank. You can give donations yourself or work with the charity to collect them from community members.
• Giving Clothing Donations: Many people might not consider clothing donations particularly helpful, but there are a variety of ways they can serve community members, especially vets and their families. Gently used clothing donations can be given directly to populations in need in order to help adults and kids have the right apparel for the season. Around 20% of donated clothing is sold in secondhand stores to benefit programs for helping families in need. Additionally, some clothing is sold to recycling companies if it can’t be salvaged in order to benefit the environment. Donating clothing is a “green” way to reduce trash in landfills and help your fellow community members.
• Volunteering: Finally, there is no better way to serve your community than to go out and help them directly. Check with local organizations that focus on helping disabled veterans or military families to see what they need help with. Whether you’re sorting through clothing and food donations, cooking hot meals, or helping veterans re-enter the workforce, you can do your part by giving your time to a worthy cause.

Have more questions about donating food, clothing, or your own time? Leave a comment below.