giving back

These 8 charities in Houston will pick up your donations from home

Save time and money by scheduling a pick-up.

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Whether the kids have flown from the nest, it's time to move, or it's starting to look like a hoarders situation, hauling those items you don't want or need anymore can be a hassle, especially in the summer heat.

But for numerous charities in the area, it's a great opportunity to give someone a helping hand, and they're not just happy to take items off donors' hands, they'll send a truck to the front door, load up the items, and be on their way. It takes just a few clicks to get a Houston-area service to come knocking and drive off with a load that otherwise (if one's being honest) would stay right where it is.

Here are eight options that will save a lot of time, energy, and, most importantly, money.

Arms of Hope
The Medina-based, Christian organization accepts clothing, furniture, toys, sporting goods, and other items. Schedule a free pick-up here or by calling 877-259-3744. The Houston outreach office can be contacted directly at 713-868-1309.

Houston Habitat for Humanity
The nonprofit needs new and used cabinets, doors, windows, carpeting and flooring, building supplies, lighting fixtures, and more. Schedule a pick-up by entering a ZIP code and selecting whether the destination is residential or commercial, and then explain what items need to be collected.

Houston Food Bank
The Houston Food Bank, which serves an 18-county region, accepts large amounts of items from food drives, and asks that pick-ups be requested with at least a 48-hour notice and for there to be enough items that could fill the back of a small pickup truck, otherwise collecting them becomes cost prohibitive. But first, the food bank needs donors to register their drives.

Houston Furniture Bank
This nonprofit charges $50 for furniture pickups. Items should be free of rips, tears, stains, and pet hair. They’re looking for essential items such as sofas and loveseats, upholstered chairs, coffee and end tables, dining room tables and chairs, and more.

Houston Local Charity
The nonprofit Greater Houston donation pick-up service accepts household items, electronics, clothing, and more. Note that free donation pick-up dates vary by the part of the region where items are located.

Purple Heart Foundation
The Houston location of this veterans organization accepts jewelry, hats, small furniture, radios and TVs, electronics, and other items. Through this service, you can simply schedule a pickup and leave the items at your front door. For more information, call 713-685-5400.

Salvation Army
Houston-area residents need only enter their ZIP code here, enter the number and type of items they want to donate, and schedule a pick-up. The Salvation Army Family Stores accept clothes, books, household items, chairs, couches, and miscellaneous things.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
The organization accepts gently used clothing, furniture, and more. The group asks that donors ask themselves whether items are in good shape and cleaned, don't have lead-based paint, never been recalled, and meet Consumer Product Safety Commission standards.

Vehicle donations
Want to get rid of a car, truck, motorcycle, boat, or RV? Numerous Houston-area nonprofits and services are ready to schedule a pick-up, generally regardless of the vehicle's condition. These organizations accept vehicle donations:

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates swipe nearly $2B in packages from Texas homes this year

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

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The Grinch isn't the only one stealing Christmas these days.

’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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