Donations ~ who is accepting (Marie Kondo convert)
We have a bunch of things we would like to donate. Does anyone know of or recommend a place that is currently accepting donations of clothing and household items? Thanks so much!
Dec 5, 2020
We have a bunch of things we would like to donate. Does anyone know of or recommend a place that is currently accepting donations of clothing and household items? Thanks so much!
Parent Replies
There are some amazing grassroots organizations in Oakland that accept donations and then give them directly to the homeless and/or low income families. Oakland Compassion Project (https://www.oakcompassionproject.org) donates clothing, bedding and toiletries directly to adults who are homeless; Homies (http://www.homiesempowerment.co) has a weekly free outdoor market for low-income families that has everything from food (fresh and packaged) to clothing to pet essentials to diapers. We have donated a lot of clothing, toys, blankets, and other household stuff as these organizations work together with a couple of other ones (Urban University and Alternatives in Action) to make sure the donations they receive go to the right place. The drop off point is at Urban Schoolhouse in Oakland, you can contact them at 510-463-1644
They particularly need winter clothing including jackets, sweaters, hoodies and socks (for all ages and sizes), blankets/sleeping bags, diapers/pull-ups/wipes (these can even be opened), and formula (unopened) but the list of things they will accept is long, including kitchen and bathroom cleaning supplies and essentials, camping equipment and more.
Our family, like many others, had done a lot of sorting and clearing out during shelter in place but didn't have anywhere to donate and didn't want to throw things out that were perfectly good, just no longer necessary for us. Knowing our things are actually going to really good causes and getting used by people in our community has been great.
And lastly, we found out the Discovery Shop on 41st off of Piedmont Ave in Oakland sells unusable clothes, sheets, etc. by the pound to a textile recycler. So if you have clothing or sheets that are torn or stained they don't need to go in the trash! You do have to call in advance but if you tell them what you're donating you don't usually need to wait for an appointment and can do same-day drop off. Hope that helps!
American Cancer Society has a thrift shop off Piedmont Ave. I believe you need to make an appointment to make donations.
Goodwill is open and accepting donations!
You might try finding your local Buy Nothing group - https://buynothingproject.org/find-a-group/
One thing that I love about Buy Nothing is that your item can do directly to someone who wants it. This is great with somewhat unique items that may be difficult for the usual donation places to re-sell.