Donating Stuffed Animals?

I have a lot of stuffed animals and would love to bless children that are in need. I live in Louisville, KY. Anyone know of a place? Thanks.

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Amber E.

October 11, 20170 found this helpful

Best Answer

It is so kind of you to want to donate your stuffed animals. I have a few ideas,

The first being at the Childrens Hospital for the kids who have to stay in the hospital for awhile. Im sure getting something like that might brighten their day and give them something to hug on to at night if they dont have anything or anyone.
My second suggestion would be to a Foster Home or Group Care Facility within the Foster Care System. Many times these children have to be away from their homes and families for a very long time and they typically dont have their things from home so there is a little boy or girl in State care that Im sure would love getting a gift from someone that she didn't have to give back.

My third suggestion is to maybe donate them to local daycares or churches. I know our church had no little kid toys when it was first started and somebody donated toys to our preschool age kids that would be with us in the preschool room while their parents where in the service.

I hope I have given you a couple good ideas, and where ever you decide I know you will make a good choice.

attosa
Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,246 Posts

September 30, 20170 found this helpful

Here are some places near you that will take them:

donationtown.org/donation-pick-up.html
St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital: 215 W. Muhammed Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202 584-9802

American Counsel of the Blind: 4932 Poplar Level Road Louisville, KY 40219
Salvation Army: 7846 Dixie Hwy, Louisville, KY
Sociey of St. Vincent DePaul: 1015-C S. Preston St., Louisville, KY 40203

cybergrannie
Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks

September 30, 20170 found this helpful

There are places in your city that gladly accept used stuffed animals but probably not as many as people think.

Hospitals (or charities that donate to hospitals) will not accept prior owned stuffed animals as they have to be very careful about cleanliness/germs.
Most thrift stores will accept these but many times they get soiled before anyone buys because they are usually placed in an out of the way area (area reserved for slow moving items).

Many times these toys are sold for 50 cents to $2.00.
It seems a better idea to try and find a place that has people with emotional needs and really has a use for this type of item.
Some of these places are found in almost every city.
Nursing Homes, local family services, church organizations that are for children, private day care centers,.
Here are a couple of sites that may offer suggestions.
www.moneycrashers.com/.../
freshstitches.com/.../

You may be able to find more in your city if you check Google where to donate preowned stuffed toys with your zip code.

Be sure to call any of these places before donating your animals to see if they can use them or else they may just wind up in the trash.

haysie
Silver Answer Medal for All Time! 424 Answers

September 30, 20170 found this helpful

I do volunteers work at a local thrift shop. We get a lot of toys and stuffed animals donated to our store. They are either sold at a very cheap price, or shipped out to go to children's orphanage.

The really not so useable stuffed animals go to a local animal hospital so many dogs like to curl up with a toy, it helps to calm them.

Do check and see if you have a local thrift shop who will take them or call a dog pound.

Thank you for your donation.

poehere
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 105 Posts

September 30, 20170 found this helpful

I think it is wonderful that you want to donate your stuffed animals to a person who can use them.

Some people won't accept stuffed animals that aren't cleaned first and put in plastic to protect them.
Many stuffed animals are easily cleaned in your washing machine on a delicate cycle using a mild soap.
You can line dry the animals after washing. I don't think I would actually throw them in the dryer.

Once you have them cleaned I would contact some day care centers in your area. They are always in need of toys for the children and stuffed animals make a good toy for the kids to play with.
People who do home daycare would also be interested in receiving stuffed animals for their children to play with.
In some areas the local fire departments collect clean, good conditions stuffed animals to give to children of fires. This calms the child down and help relieve the pain. I know when I worked in San Diego the fire department always was looking for stuffed animals for children of fires.
Christmas is right around the corner and many organizations look for gift to give children that have nothing at this time of year. The chilren would love to receive these stuffed animals for the holidays.