Here is a question I need help with. My son and I have decided to purge his toys.The first time in his 6 1/2 years. He has told me that we need to try and give his toys to those children that may not have any. So he and I are going through them taking out those he's outgrown or just doesn't play with anymore. My problem is I just don't know where to take them.Who would use them really? Hospitals, doctors offices, fire departments, or thrift stores?????? How do I choose the right places? I just feel sick thinking about throwing them in the garbage. So if anyone has some good ideas please let me know.
I donate all our stuff to Goodwill. They will give you a paper that you can use to deducte the donation from your taxes.
Stuffed animals will mostly just rot, in a thrift store, but..... Take the stuffed animals (Clean, of course) to the fire department. They give them to the fire trucks, ambulances and cop cars to give to children in emergency situations. Call ahead to your city's NON-emergency number, Explain in brief that you have stuffed animals to drop off for kids who get scared, where should you go and whom should you ask for. They should be more than happy to help you! Toy parts - trinkets - McDonalds toys: Take these to the thrift stores. Try to bag them in baggies. But not necessary, unless you want them to give you a tax credit, because it will be easier for them to give you an estimated value, if they have all the matching parts together. Large toys (Castles, doll house, etc) Thrift Stores. If they have any associated parts, bag those and tape the bag to the toy. Many thrift stores are actually money making fronts for charities. Although you may want to donate directly to a womens' and childrens' shelter, the money made from selling these items at their thrift stores is how they help these women and children better. Anyway, just my $0.02.
Don't throw them away! Give them to children's services in your county for them to distribute to kids going into foster homes. Not all...just some. Thrift stores are a good idea also. Maybe even a school in a depressed neighborhood...or a preschool or daycare in a depressed neighborhood. Just some thoughts.
you may also want to see if your city has a battered women's shelter. many of these shelters take the toys.
what about your church do they have Sunday school programs or day care where the children go that would be a wonderful place to take them. rescue squad also need badly any stuff animals in wonderful shape they give to small children..
I usually give my things to Purple Bows for Cancer, Salvation Army, Helping Hands, or to shelters. Patty
you can also check with a local church school, a lot of the day cares take good clean toys too, not the cuddles of course, but like they said hospitals, salvation army, fire department will take the good clean ones, none that look ratty though andyes shelters and even half way homes , you knwo the recovery type homes for moms and kids?
Oh my, in this part of the world (Eastern Europe) there are so many orphanages and other poor kids institutions where you could take those kind of things, but I guess this is too far away from you. We are doing volunteer work here and regulary do stuff like this
I may have overlooked this suggestion: in the city (Columbia) they have a day care program that when Joyce was tiny was run by Volunteers of America but that may have changed. Anyways, it was a program for kiddos staying in the women's abuse shelters, kids coming from the homeless shelters and at one point they had a partnership with the school district that the moms that were in the adult ed classes could take advantage of this free program. They gladly took donations. What they didn't use for the program could be used to help a family get started in a new home. I volunteered for awhile with them right after Joyce was born (we had been in a situation where we need the services a few years before that) partly to get out of the house and also to repay what had been done for me. I was amazed at some of the things that were given. This time of year is a needy time of year for any of those types of organizations. It is awhile until Christmas and people don't always think about places like that until the holidays.
I would also check with your local high schools. Many schools around here run free daycare centers for high school moms so they can graduate. The students in the Marriage and Family classes work in the center, so it serves double duty. They don't get much funding so decent toys would be very helpful. (I figure that if we all keep throwing out suggestions, one will hit a heartstring and you'll know what area God wants to use you in)
