Places to Donate Adaptive Clothing
As more and more adaptive clothing becomes available on the market, we are starting to realize that these items are very valuable in making daily life easier. Unfortunately, kids rarely stay the same size forever and we outgrow our specialty clothing. You may want to consider donating your adaptive clothing so that it can help another family.
Unlike donating regular clothes to a thrift store or nonprofit clothing store, adaptive clothing should be given where it will be most helpful. Most traditional used clothing stores won’t have a large audience looking for gently used adaptive clothing. We have rounded up a list of places that would love to receive gently used adaptive clothing.
Where to Donate Adaptive Clothing?
Instead of a donating adaptive clothing to Goodwill, you may want to consider donating the clothing directly to organizations that can make sure the clothing is given directly to those families that can use it. The following places are great options to donate gently used and unused adaptive clothing.
1. Ronald McDonald House- The Ronald Mcdonald House is a charity that offers housing and accommodations for families of children that are inpatient or receiving extended care at local hospitals. They also pass on supplies and toys to families in need. Just contact your local chapter and ask if they can accept adaptive clothing. They will then pass them along to a family in need on your behalf. If you need help finding a local chapter, check out their national website here.
2. Local Children’s Hospital– Most children’s hospitals have an entire department related to volunteer services that handle donations. These departments coordinate donations from large corporations, local stores, and individuals. All you need to do is ask your local children’s hospital for their volunteer services coordinator to see how they would like the clothing delivered. Some require that the clothing be mailed, and other’s allow drop offs.
3. Therapy Center– If you are currently receiving physical, occupational or speech therapy at a center, just ask them if they would accept a donation of adaptive clothing. Most centers will gladly pass on adaptive clothing to families and patients in need that may not be able to afford them.
4. Public Health Department- The Public Health Department is typically the same local agency that handles WIC (Women and Children Food Assistance). A lot of families with children that have feeding tubes get their formula through WIC and would be very grateful to also have access to gently used adaptive clothing. Our local nutritionist at our WIC office is amazing and has helped us pass on many supplies and clothing to families that are in need of resources they can’t currently afford them.
5. Facebook Groups– There are so many support groups available on Facebook that are specific to conditions or equipment that your child uses. These groups typically allow you to donate goods and clothing to others in return for the shipping costs. They may not allow you to sell the items to recoup your costs, but you can usually donate clothing with no issues. If you are currently a member of a support group on Facebook, you can go under groups and search for things like your child’s condition or equipment like oxygen support, colostomy bags, trachs, and feeding tubes.
6. Medical Closets- Medical closets are typically non-profit organizations or charities that help assist those with special needs to get much needed equipment and supplies. If you don’t currently know of a local closet in your area, just type in “medical closet near me” in any search engine. Most medical closets are located in larger cities, and some will even allow you to mail the clothing to them. Always call and discuss donations directly with the medical closet organization.
7. Special Needs Ministry/ Local Churches – There are quite a few churches that now provide special needs ministry to those with disabilities and handicaps. Unfortunately, there are many families that just cannot afford basic medical needs and supplies. These ministries try to match donations directly with families in need. The best way to find special needs ministry organizations is to contact your church or call multiple local churches and they should be able to find a nonprofit that can help pass along your adaptive clothing.
Adaptive Clothing for Children
Adaptive clothing for children can be very expensive, and there are so many families out there that would love to have gently used clothing to wear. Adaptive clothing can truly make a huge difference in daily life and making access to medical equipment less complicated.
If you know of any other organization or groups that accept adaptive clothing donations, please feel free to share the information in the comments section below!
