All you need to know about sending clothing boxes:

ALERT! As you probably know by now, the US post office has discontinued international surface mail. We are looking into other possibilities for shipping, if you know any good options, please call us on 309-925-9040. We are not recommending using air mail for clothing boxes, the postage is too great of an expense. We will let our churches know of other options as they become available.

Sending a box of used clothes to one of our missionaries is a great way to get involved in foreign missions! It's also an exciting project for a church to do together. Gathering the clothes, sorting them, packing the boxes and taking them to the post office can be a great group project! That is, of course, if there's ice cream or other treats involved!

OK, here are some guidelines as supplied by the clothing box pro at the Tremont Church, Joyce Galat. Joyce has overseen the shipment of over one thousand boxes-maybe even more than her Dad, Walter Meyer did!

All of our missionaries can use good quality used clothes! The important part there is GOOD quality; clothes are available at all of our missions but not quality clothing. So, keep that in mind as you are sorting through the items to send. Check the labels, hand wash only and dry clean only items are better left for people to use here. Plus, postage has risen in recent years. A 20 lb box to Brazil is just under $50, which adds up fast if you're sending out several boxes.

OK, where to begin. Getting the clothes is usually easy, have an announcement in church for people to clean out their closets and bring the clothes in. Doing this in the spring or fall is usually the best time, or you can do it twice a year! New boxes are usually the bet for packing the clothes in; they are a uniform size and are in good condition. Get the size requirements from the Post Office or go online at usps.com. The current size for Brazil is combined length, width and height (girth) not to exceed 79 inches and 24 inches in length. Boxes can be purchased at an office supply store or usually cheaper at uline.com but you need to purchase at least 25. A stop at the post office will also get you the required customs forms, great to fill out before you get to the post office to drop the packages off. Tape the boxes well, Joyce recommends gummed paper tape on all the seams, then completely covering the box with the same gummed paper tape as well.

Please only send down modest clothes, this is very important for all of our missions. Used underwear is also fine; shoes are usually not a great deal because they are heavy. Actually, Brazil even frowns on importing shoes as they do export them. Papua New Guinea can use used eyeglasses and all of the missions enjoy goodie treats in with the clothes. Please don't send any form of soap in with any chocolate. The chocolate will taste like soap after it's shared the same sealed box for 6 months! Trust me on this one. Also, used linens like towels and sheets are also welcomed.

It would be a good idea to send a quick email to the missionary where you are sending them. (See the email address page) There might be some changes that we aren't aware of. The correct mailing address of each mission should be in the back of the directory, you might ask the missionary how to correctly list the contents of the box to avoid paying unnecessary duty on the missionary's end. Usually "Used Clothes, No Commercial Value" works well.

That's about it! Go for it and have fun! It does mean a lot to our missionaries to receive packages from the US. If you have any additional ideas that would be helpful to this page or our website, please email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .