Need help translating a sentence..

[Anyaaa]

みんな今日は! Haven't been on this forum for so long.

Basically I'm speaking to one of my penpals about the earthquake/tsunami situation in Japan. Normally I have no trouble understanding her but it seems that this serious conversation has led her to make more complicated messages and I really don't get what this means. This was in response to me telling her I'd given some money to the Red Cross tsunami appeal:

私は、地震で家や住む場所など着るものなど
なくなった多くの人達に少しでも力になりたいため海外のお友達にも
寄付をお願いしました

My attempt:
I hoped that my foreign friends would donate (海外のお友達にも
寄付をお願いしました), even if just a little (少しでも), to help the many people who have lost their houses, dwellings, etc. in the earthquake (地震で家や住む場所など着るものなど
なくなった多くの人達).

I think that's the general meaning of the sentence, but I'm a bit confused about the meaning of 着るもの. Things that people wear? Clothes? Seems odd to mention clothes rather than any other type of possessions people may have lost. Perhaps it's the wrong kanji? Or perhaps I'm missing something really obvious.

The other bit that confused me is 力になりたいため. I thought it might be something to do with lots of small donations making a big difference (or becoming powerful? 力になる？), but likewise I thought the -たい verb ending could only be used for first or second person (e.g. I or you want to... become powerful?). And ため... 'in order that I or you want to become powerful'? Obviously that doesn't really make any sense, so I must be reading it wrong somehow.

Thanks for any help

[animeyay]

地震で家や住む場所など着るものなどなくなった多くの人達に
to the many people who have lost their homes, dwellings, and clothes (things to wear)

私は......少しでも力になりたいため
since I want to be of help to them, even just a little

海外のお友達にも寄付をお願いしました
I asked for donations also from my friends overseas



着るもの is indeed the clothes the people up there need right now. It's really really cold, so keeping them warm is top priority.

力になる is a set phrase meaning "to be of help"...

[Anyaaa]

ありがとう！質問がもう一つあるんだけど。
Do you know why she used 'なりたいため' instead of just なりたい? I have never seen the ため used with anything other than the infinitive (e.g. なる). 'In order that I want to...'? I noticed that you used 'since' in your translation though... does it take on that meaning for this phrase, instead of the normal 'in order to'?

[animeyay]

Sure. ため doesn't always mean "for...'s sake"; it can also mean "because" (= から or ので).