As of Monday, Wareham Public Schools officially became part of a clothing donation program.

Parent-teacher association member Donna Lambert said she got the idea from a friend, after she sent Lambert an article about Baystate Textiles. The organization, which services over 70 municipalities in Massachusetts, takes clean, dry textiles to be reused both domestically and internationally. To top it off, Lambert said, the schools benefit, too.

“For every 1,000 pounds of clothes, the PTA gets $100,” Lambert said. “Even if it’s just a few hundred dollars, it can go a long way -- we can send kids on special field trips, or give out awards.”

Baystate Textiles breaks down the kinds of clothing dropped off into three different categories: reusable, wiping cloths, and recyclable. The recyclable cloth is cut up, turned into squares, and shipped on large pallets to developing countries to be turned into clothing. The organization accepts everything from clothing to stuffed animals to pillows.

Lambert said she thinks it is a great way to clean house, especially if there are items like old sheets a person may not want to throw away, but that can’t go to a place like the Salvation Army, which only accepts linens in good condition to be resold.

Lambert said she presented the idea to the rest of the PTA members about three months ago, but that she has had bags of clothes sitting in her car for the past two months.

“I just dropped off five bags of clothes yesterday,” Lambert said.

The only issue Lambert is concerned about is people treating the donation boxes as trash receptacles. If anything but textiles are put into the boxes, Lambert said, the donations will be no good, as the clothing has to be clean and dry for Baystate Textiles to accept it.

Lambert said each school in Wareham has a clothing dropoff box, but all are in different spots. Wareham Middle School’s box is located around the back of the school, but Wareham High School’s box is located towards the front. Minot’s is near the student dropoff point, while Decas’ is to the side of the school.

Lambert said the PTA would discuss options for getting the word out about the donation boxes, but that she hopes they will be able to put flyers in area hospitals and local businesses, like real estate agencies. She said she is looking forward to seeing the fruits of the program.

“This sounded so different from other clothes collection programs,” Lambert said. “It’s very community oriented.”