Where to Donate Used Toys Charities – It’s an obvious thing when you clean your house, you try to get rid of many clutters and in those clutters most of the time we also have many toys. Instead of throwing away these toys, you should think about donating them. It will help you to make your home neat and clean and also its act of donating used toys. Firstly, you will have to clean those toys and collect them. Next, you have to find a place that will receive those toys as a donation.
It’s always a good thing to do cleaning prior to the season of Christmas. You can remove the toys from your home and also explain to your kids about the importance of giving and how these toys can be used by the charities to which you will be donating the toys. Plus, the old clothes you can sell on e-bay.
You can also study a bit about it so as to where to donate your toys and what are the several options for it. You can involve your family members also in it to select a mode of donation. There are also many diverse causes where you can make a donation. So, let’s take a look at some of the toy donations.
Toy Donation Options
Resell Charities
There are many good charities like the Salvation Army and the goodwill foundations, which receive the toys from the giver. After they have accepted the toys they will put them up for sale for others to purchase. And whatever benefit they get from the sale of these toys, those benefits (proceeds) are given back to the needy in their program or in the community. But you should also ensure that the local toy store doesn’t have extra toys in the shop else there are chances that your donation may be canceled. If it is accepted then it’s a very good thing as people will have access to toys which are of low cost which will also help in creating funds for the community.
Local Shelters and Children’s Centers
There are many such children’s local homes and charity center’s where they accept the old toys for the kids there. So, you can also donate your toys there to the children who are needy and dream of having toys. Plus, you will also have to call and find out with some charities as there are many charities that will not accept the donations of toys.
Other similar options where you can look for donating the toys are –
- Children’s social services office
- Local Boys & Girls Club
- Toy drives prearranged by department stores, schools, grocery, hospitals, etc.
To find the different kinds of shelters and charities in your area you can also search in the homeless shelter directory.
Preschools and Nurseries
There are many such pre schools and nursery which may accept and be in need of soft used toys so you can donate them. But before that be sure to call them as there may be some rules for taking these toys. Plus, donating in schools like these will not net you a subtraction on your levies and that too when this preschool is not an exempt organization i.e. EO.
Church Charities
Now one of the best parts about the churches is that they are organizations that are tax exempt. So it means that you can get subtraction in your levies if you donate old toys to the nursery of the church. Most of the time the nurseries and daycares are given to the parishioners and the services for the same are either free of cost or low and when they need the toys. If you are also the one who has taken the benefit of these services of the church when you were small or for your baby then you can give it back to them by donating toys.
Freecycle
There are many options in the online store also where you can get rid of your old stuffs especially if you don’t want a subtraction in levies. There is a site known as the freecycle. In this site, you can do the posting of the stuff that you want to donate. But you will also have to be careful of this site as you should not give away any private details like your address etc. Its better you meet the folks in places such as coffee shops, parks, etc. which is a public place.
Plus, there are many other ways and charity garage sales that you can find out using social media such as Facebook. You can also use Craigslist. These charities also collect donations and sell them and then use the proceeds for the benefit of the needy. So, this is another good way in which you can donate your extra items.
Specific Charities That donate Toys for Kids
Earlier it was mentioned that there are many charities that are local and they may not accept your donations. But there is nothing to worry as there are charities which are National they take toys donations. Here s is the list of such charities that take donations for games and toys.
Toys for Tots
This is one such charity which accepts all kinds of toys both used and new. So, if you got a box full of toys then you should visit the toys for the tots website. You will have to give the details of your state and a pick-up location.
If you want to offer help and any other kind of services and don’t have toys, then you can give a donation in the form of money, and also there is a need for helpers for a warehouse where you can join. So, in this way you can help them out.
- Ronald McDonald House
This house provides for families to stay close to the hospitals where their children are admitted or are getting care. With the help of Ronald McDonald’s house, the people who are staying far away can live close to their kids during the time when the kid needs them the most.
As it helps the full families it is in need of continued toys so that they make the sibling engaged with playing with toys when they stay at their house. So, here also you can donate them with the toys in the local chapter.
- Loving Hugs or Stuffed Animals for Emergencies
Stuffed animals or loving hugs and stuffed animals for emergencies are one such kind of charities that help the kids in case of a crisis like a natural disaster or during a ride in the ambulance by providing them with toys. So here also you can donate your old toys to them. It helps the children especially during the time when they are scared. They get comfort from the soft toys.
What to Avoid Donating Toys to Kids
There are many charities that love to take donations. But still, there are certain things that you should avert –
- Never give toys that are soiled or broken. The reason is that many of them cannot do the cleaning of it and repair it. So, they may throw them in the garbage.
- Never give toys that have certain parts missing. The charities will not be able to replace the missing parts
- Never give toys or items that can go inside the mouth of a baby. They don’t accept in the charity the bottles and pacifiers. Most charities will not accept baby stuff. So if you want to donate bouncy seats and strollers etc. then call them first and enquire.
- Never leave your stuff and toys unattended. The charities will always have pick-up accessibility and drop off place. So if you ever leave your toy box or stuffs unattended at their door then it looks bad. Make a call and intimate them that you are coming.
- Never give used toys in the hospitals. As there are some rules and regulations regarding the hygiene regarding the toys in the room of a patient, which you should also follow. So, it’s always best that you give new toys to the hospitals.
- Never wrap your stuff and toys. It should be clearly visible.
- Never give recalled toys and stuff. Such toys should be given back to the manufacturer and you should not donate it.
Toys and Taxes
In many cases, you can claim deduction on your taxes by donating toys. For that, you have to assemble the toys and see what the condition of it is. Then you should go ahead by making a donation to an organization which is tax-exempt. If you don’t know whether an organization has a status of EO, then you can check with the tool for checking IRS EO select check tool. Plus, you can request the organization for a receipt of your donation as you will need it for your levies record.
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Conclusion
You can also visit the website DonationTown.org which takes the donations for charities near your locality. All you have to do is enter your zip code and it will provide a time for pick up of the toys and stuff and it’s giving to the charities.
Donating old toys is a very good act and there are many charities where you can donate these toys. You can remove the clutter from your home and donate the toys with your kids and also encourage them to make an act of giving toys. We appreciate your suggestion to suggest places and charities donate your Toys.
