Then, you must specifically donate to a tax-exempt organization. If you’re not sure if a facility can claim exempt organization status, check the IRS EO Select Check tool. Then, ask the organization for a donation receipt when you drop off the toys – you’ll need it for your tax records.
Churches are tax-exempt organizations, so you can claim a deduction if you donate old toys to a church nursery. Many religious organizations offer daycares or nurseries to their parishioners, and since the service is often low-cost or free, they’re often in need of toys.
If you know of a shelter or children’s charity in your area, there’s a good chance that it accepts toy donations. After all, kids will be kids, and children who visit shelters can feel more at ease when there are toys nearby. You just need to call ahead, as some charities won’t accept toy donations.
Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to needy children. You’re probably familiar with the toy drives they do during the holiday season, which they’re famous for. The program accept toy donations year round at many locations throughout the US.
Donation Town is basically a donation pickup search engine. You’re able to easily discover nearby charities that can pick up your toy donation. With that said, the site is not perfect as they possibly miss some charities that do offer free pickup.
But they typically accept only new toys to avoid any possible infections and are a bit strict when it comes to types of toys they would take.
Shelters may be one of the last places you would think of when wanting to donate toys, but it shouldn’t be. Many orphaned, underprivileged and abused children do end up in shelters (e.g. homeless shelters), which typically depend on public support. Your toy giveaway will help in alleviating the hardships those children go through and putting a smile on their faces.
This is a Christian charity whose mission is to meet human needs without discrimination in every way possible. They offer various programs that benefit the community including disaster relief, homeless shelters, adult rehabilitation and summer camps for kids. The organization also provides Christmas gifts to needy families and children during the holiday season.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that helps families build and improve places to call home. They aid families in buying decent and affordable housing including working with volunteers and receiving financial education.
Examples of charity services they provide include clothing, food, housing, utility assistance, medical care and transportation.
Doctor’s offices need toys to keep children occupied in the waiting room or even as a reward for making it through a checkup. So you could help out by donating toys.
The Marine Toys for Tots is a program that gives children free Christmas toys. By donating, you put presents under the tree of a less fortunate child on Christmas morning.
Second Chance Toys is an awesome organization that exists to provide toys to kids in low-income households, particularly the ones living at or below the poverty level. You can donate any plastic toy that has all of its parts and batteries.
Stuffed Animals for Emergencies is a wonderful organization that does just as its name suggests – it provides stuffed animals for children to cuddle in times of emergency. Having a stuffed toy to cuddle can help children to feel safe during times like natural disasters or during an ambulance ride, for example. 9.
This is an awesome national 501 (c) (3) nonprofit dedicated to helping military families so they can thrive. They help military families with anything from rent and mortgage to utilities, groceries and foods as well as toys for their kids. Visit their website to contact them to see about donating your kid’s gently used toys (or brand new toys) to military families in your area.
LetGo isn’t a charity, but it’s still a place to consider giving away used toys. The site is a marketplace where you can buy and sell stuff locally. Although its focus is on selling stuff, there is actually a section just for free stuff where people can list the stuff they want to give away.
The Ronald McDonald House is an organization that provides accommodation and facilities to families whose children are getting care in a nearby hospital. Basically, it makes it possible for families who live further away from the hospital to be near their children while they’re being cared for.
There are so many charities that will accept gently used toys and distribute them throughout their networks. For example, thrift-store organizations like Goodwill and The Salvation Army will resell toys in their shops and use the profits to support their charitable work. You could also give to Toys for Tots, the United States Marine Corps Reserve-run program that gives donated toys to children in need. Toys for Tots hosts popular toy drives around the holidays, but they also accept gently used toys year-round. Cradles to Crayons is another organization that accepts new and nearly new toys to benefit low-income families.
If you've ever been to a day-care center, you know that they go through toys quickly. That's why if you have a ton of lightly used toys to donate, you might contact a center in your area to see if they're able to give your items a second life.
Hospitals. Many hospitals will accept donated toys for their young patients to play with, or to keep children entertained in the waiting room; the same thing goes for doctor's offices. But keep in mind: If you want to donate toys to your local children's hospital, they must be new.
You can donate gently used stuffed animals to SAFE. However, please be sure that the stuffed animals meet the following guidelines: 1 Only gently used stuffed animals 2 Stuffed animals that have been properly cleaned (the website has a guide) 3 Stuffed animals that were part of a collection, haven’t been played with, and still have tags on are considered “new” even if they’ve been stored cleanly in your home
Stuffed Animals For Emergencies (SAFE for short) is a charity that gives stuffed animals to children in emergency situations. Such as children who are involved in a domestic violence incident, a house fire, car accident, or other traumatic event. You can donate gently used stuffed animals to SAFE.
Laurie Blank is a blogger, freelance writer, and mother of four. She’s psyched about teaching others how to manage their money in a way that aligns with their values and has been quoted in Bankrate.
Many metropolitan cities have emergency childcare services – often called crisis nurseries – for parents who are in a bind and need occasional child care. For instance, if a parent is trying to get help for addiction, or move, or something similar, they can find childcare for a specified amount of time.
There were a few articles that said U.S. Marines Toys For Tots program accepts used toys as well. According to this webpage, that hasn’t been the case since 1980. The Toys For Tots website said that distributing used toys to some children was giving them the wrong message that they weren’t worthy of new toys, while kids who received new toys were more deserving.
We welcome your toy donations for our patients. Can you imagine the difference your gift can make to a hospitalized patient family? Your donations are so important to us! The global pandemic has had an impact on our toy donations this year and we are so grateful for your potential gift.
To help us prevent infection and maintain patient safety and well-being:
Click here for a link to our registry, you may buy and ship our wish-list items directly to us from the links on the site.
If the items don’t fall within our guidelines or are unsafe/inappropriate for our patients, we reserve the right to politely decline donations.
Space in the hospital to store all the wonderful toys is at a premium; as such we kindly recommend holding a “Gift Card” drive, instead of a traditional toy drive whenever possible. Gift cards allow us to maximize your gift to our patients because they provide our staff with the flexibility to make “on-demand” toy purchases.
If you would like to donate reading books, please visit our Literally Healing Program for more information. You can also contact them at 323-361-4312 or [email protected].