There are many different ways to help others in your own community, as well as across the globe. Put your skills to work if you’re an avid crafter, and you could provide joy and comfort to a stranger in need. Go through your children’s old clothes, toys, and sports equipment, and you might find some treasures to send along to a wide-eyed child who will eagerly accept your gift. Send along an old winter jacket, and you could put a warm smile on someone else’s face. Go through your closet, and you might end up helping a complete stranger get a job with your donated dress clothes. Instead of throwing out your old laptop, consider donating it, and you could give someone overseas the gift of technology. Follow this list of recommended charities and organizations to find out how you can make a difference in someone else’s life today.
Where to Donate Your New or Gently-Used Clothing
- Donate A Coat: Find out where to donate your coat using this tool from the One Warm Coat foundation. Coats are collected and then sent to local agencies that match each coat with someone who needs it.
- Donate My Dress: Find out where to donate your dresses to help girls dress up for prom and other events. This site lists different agencies, by state, that accept dress donations.
- Prom Gown Programs Across the US: Find the nearest location to donate your prom dress, so you can help a young girl have the most memorable day of her high school years.
- Donate Old Clothes to Support Veterans: This site gives detailed information on how to donate your old clothes to support the Vietnam Veterans of America.
- Donate New or Nearly New Interview Attire: This site provides a link for affiliates, as well as detailed information on how to help women get employment by donating new or nearly new interview attire.
- Donate Clothes to Help Your Local Red Cross: This site provides links and hotlines to schedule a pickup for your clothes to help fund your local Red Cross.
- Donate Clothes to Help At-Risk Children: This site provides pickup for donated clothing to help at-risk children through the Big Brother Big Sister foundation.
- Donate Shoes: Find the nearest location to donate shoes to help someone in need through the Soles4Souls Organization.
- Homeless Shelters by State: Use this resource to find homeless shelters in your area where you can donate your gently-used clothing to people in need.
Where to Donate Your Knit/ Handmade Clothes and Other Crafts
- Donate A Knitted Bear to Children: This site offers information on the Mother Bear Project, as well as helpful guides to knit bears for children in emerging nations who are suffering from HIV and AIDS.
- Donate Quilts to Servicemen and Veterans: This site provides information on how to donate quilts to the Quilts of Valor Foundation, to help comfort all combat servicemen and veterans.
- Donate Quilts to Cancer Patients: This site provides information on how to help cancer patients by donating knitted quilts.
- Donate Yarn, Crocheted Squares, Afghans, or Bearghans: This site provides information on how to donate crafts to help someone ease his or her pain over suffering from a loss or tragedy.
- Donate Crocheted Angels: This site provides information on how to help knit free crocheted angels for anyone in need of hope, especially the ill or injured.
- Donate Quilts to Needy Children Locally and Around the World: This site provides information on how to help out by donating handmade quilts to children locally and worldwide.
- Donate Knitted Blankets to Children: This site provides you with specific steps and guidelines to donate knitted blankets to children born HIV-positive, drug-addicted, or with other terminal illnesses, as well as to children who have been abused, who are in foster care, or have experienced some form of trauma.
- Donate Your Knitting to Afghans: This site provides specific steps and guidelines to donate your knitted clothes and crafts to individuals and families in Afghanistan.
- Donate A Bottle of Hope: This site provides information and a “how to” guide to help cheer up cancer patients through donated bottles. It may not seem like much, but cancer patients do love these bottles of well-wishes. Give hope, give a bottle.
Where to Donate Your Furniture
- Donate Your Furniture: Find the nearest locations in the United States to donate new or gently-used furniture to help out individuals or families in poverty.
- Donate Your Used Office Supplies and Furniture: The American Cancer Society can use your charitable furniture donations to equip their offices and cut down on budget expenses, so more of their efforts can go towards helping cancer patients and their families.
- Donate Used Office Furniture: Consider donating your used office furniture, equipment, or supplies to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
- Donate Your Surplus Furniture & Appliances: This site provides a list of Habitat for Humanity Restore locations to donate surplus materials, appliances and furniture to fund local house construction projects
- Donate Your Furniture, Appliances, and Electronics: This site provides detailed information on how your donation helps families and individuals in need, and provides a locator tool to help you find the nearest Goodwill center.
- Donate Your Furniture to the Salvation Army: Find out more on how your furniture donation can be used to transform someone’s life. The Salvation Army provides tools to help you find the nearest drop-off location for your donations, and also provides a guide to estimate the tax-deductible value of your donation.
- Donation Town: Use this website to schedule a time for your furniture donation to be picked up by a local charity of your choice.
Where to Donate Your Sports Equipment
- Sports for the World’s Children: This foundation is continually looking for donations of sports equipment. Your donations are sent to children in Nicaragua, Mexico, Uganda, and the United States. Find out more about where to drop off your sports equipment donations here.
- Donate Sports Equipment to Purple Heart Medal recipients: This provides a list of accepted donations for the Purple Heart Pickup Service. Donations proceeds will go to help wounded purple heart medal recipients
- Sports Gift: This organization collects sports equipment donations to give to children across the globe. Consider organizing a collection drive in your community to help give disadvantaged children the gift of sports.
- Reuse A Shoe: Donate your used shoes to Nike, who will turn the recycled materials into surfaces for basketball courts, tennis courts, and running tracks.
- Collectibles with Causes: This organization collects your sports collectibles and memorabilia, and gives the proceeds to American families in need.
- Tennis Racquets for Kids: Do you have an old tennis racquet sitting around collecting dust? Consider donating your used racquets to this organization that gives underprivileged kids the opportunity to learn and enjoy the game.
- YMCA: Use this tool to find the nearest YMCA in your area. Many times, they will accept donations of sports equipment to be used in their various programs.
- Special Olympics: Find your local Special Olympics program here. Many programs will accept donations of sports equipment to help supply their program and give children the chance to experience the joy of participating in different sporting events.
International Charities to Donate To
- Computers with Causes: Use this website to donate your computer to someone across the world who will benefit from your donation, instead of just getting rid of it.
- Crutches 4 Africa: This charity accepts donations of used crutches and redistributes them to people in Africa. Your donation makes physical mobility possible for someone in need.
- Peace Passers: Donate your used soccer gear to Peace Passers. This organization will then match your donation to communities worldwide who would not otherwise have access to soccer equipment.
- Pitch In for Baseball: This charity accepts donations of baseball equipment to give to kids all around the world. See how your used baseball equipment can make a difference in someone else’s life.
- Global Gear Drive: A program of the International Alliance for Youth Sports, the Global Gear Drive encourages families and communities to join together to collect and donate sports equipment to countries around the world.
- Knit A Square: This program donates knitted projects to orphaned children with AIDS in South Africa.
- Donate Your Knitting: This site provides information on how to donate knitting to help homeless and impoverished people around the world.
