DIY do-gooders!

In light of last week's post of the Great Holiday Coat Drive List of 2010, I thought about those of you who might want to go the extra mile to create your own drive.  In my investigation, I actually found that sometimes it's even easier to create your own drive at work, at school, or at your place of worship, than it is to drop off stuff at someone else's drive and the impact is that much greater!  The reason drives can be so easy is because a lot of shelters and organizations will come and pick up the contents of your drive for you--you don't even need to transport the items.  All you need to do is advertise and store the items until there are enough to pick up!

There are lots of different drives to DIY and some are easier to do than others.  Keep in mind that coat drives require a lot of storage space in which to keep the coats until they are picked up, however, there are a ton of other types of drives that you can do which take up very little space, if storage is an issue for you. 

So here are some of my favorite ideas for DIY drives.  All you need to do is to send a group email, possibly hang up a flyer or two, and put out a collection box at your school or office!  Plus many of the drives below can be done year-round!  We tend to think about volunteering and donating most around holiday time, but there is a great need at shelters all year round.

Mitten Tree  

The description pretty much says it all.  Get a small or large Christmas tree and ask your colleagues or anyone else to bring in a pair of mittens, a winter hat, a scarf, or other winter gear and hang the items on the Christmas tree.  This is a festive and fun way to give back!  Then you can donate all of the items to a local shelter or organization seeking winter clothing donations.  Of course, you don't actually need a tree and can simply collect winter items to donate in a box.  Feel free to wrap the box in wrapping paper for a holiday touch.

Sock Drive

Though you might not know it, socks (and underwear!) are one thing that almost every shelter in is desperate need of.  Socks are also an easy and inexpensive item to collect and donate.   You can also do a sock drive all year round since shelters are always in need of clean, new socks and underwear.  All you need to do is set up a cardboard box in your office and send a few emails to get your sock drive going.  You can select which shelter you'll be donating to in advance so you know what types of socks to collect.  If it's a domestic violence shelter, you'll want to collect women's and children's socks.  If it's a homeless shelter, you might want to buy larger men's socks.  For a family shelter, all types of socks are probably needed.

Toiletry Drive

This is another drive that you can do year round and for which there is always a tremendous need.  Shelters are often in need of these basic necessities that we take for granted every day.  At night and emergency shelters, there are often communal bathrooms so think about donating spray deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, disposable razors, shaving cream, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brushes, combs, and feminine products like pads and tampons.  For family shelters and transitional housing, which most shelters also have, try donating laundry detergent, toilet paper, diapers, and first aid supplies.

Fun fact, I recently organized a toiletry drive at the Connecticut Law Review office and we have already collected almost a full cardboard box (wrapped in fun holiday wrapping paper!) of toiletries to donate to the South Park Inn in Hartford.  From experience, this is truly an incredibly easy way to give back.  South Park Inn, like many shelters, has a "Wish List" for donations.  One phone call over to South Park Inn confirmed that they were thrilled to receive a large donation of toiletries and that they would even send someone to pick up the items!

Toy Drives

Toy drives are great because again, all you need is a box to collect in order to make a child's Christmas that much brighter!  Toys for Tots is the easiest way to donate toys.  With Toys for Tots, you can arrange to become an official drop-off site or you can simply hold your own in-office or school drive and drop off the toys at at any drop-off site or any Toys R Us or Babys R Us location.  If you want to make a truly local impact, consider donating to a domestic violence or family shelter since many family and domestic violence shelters house mothers with small children.  You can place a call to any domestic violence shelter or family shelter to ask if there is a need there for toys for children, then collect and drop off!

Want to make it even easier for your colleagues to donate?  Ask them to order online at the online Toys for Tots headquarters at Toys R Us and have it all shipped to you for drop off, or use an online service to send directly to families in need!  Donate directly to the New York Cares program through Toys R Us which allows you to pick a gift from the Wish List and send to shelters serving domestic violence victims, victims of trafficking, homeless youth, and victims of sexual assault.  You can also give directly to a needy child after viewing his or her profile and wish list at JC Penney's Adopt an Angel program which goes through the Salvation Army.  So easy!

Coat Drives

Coat drives are one of the easiest ways to give back this winter, if you have the space to store the coats before they can be picked up.  Easy ways to do this, free up a closet by asking co-workers to place coats on the backs of their chairs for a couple of weeks in order to make space.  How about using that empty office that every office seems to have to store the coats?  Racks are easy and cheap to buy if you need them.  I got some at Target for under $20.  Try this one.  The easy thing about coat drives is that coats are one of the easiest things to have an organization come over with a truck to pick up so if you advertise and collect, most organizations or large drives will come to you to collect and will distribute the coats for you to those in need!

Before you start your drive, identify an organization that you'd like to donate to and make one phone call to find out the needs of the organization (many places are looking for particular sizes, for instance, Hands on Hartford is looking for Men's sizes XL to 3XL) and to arrange to have the coats picked up!  One of the best organizations to organize a drive with is One Warm Coat which even has an online guide to organizing your own coat drive!  One Warm Coat actually organizes local participating shelters, gives you information about what type of coat each participating shelter is looking for, and how to get the coats to the shelter.  To cut out your own research on a local organization and get right to it, I can't think of an easier way to organize a drive.

Finding out who needs what and when

Before putting out your collection box, it is important to have your destination site in mind.  Give one phone call to the organization of your choice to make sure that you're donating exactly what they need, what they have space to hold, and what they can easily distribute.  If you're donating clothing, find out what condition the clothing should be donated in and what sizes are needed at your site.  Find out what population frequents the shelter where you're looking to donate.  You don't want to donate a whole bunch of women's clothing if the shelter serves 85% male individuals.  One two minute phone call will answer all of these questions and you can also find out whether the shelter or organization will pick up what you've collected.  Most locations are happy to do so if you have a big enough donation!

Local Organizations in Hartford that Need Your Help...

Give a call over to these organizations when you're thinking of organizing a drive as needs change throughout the seasons.  Don't see a shelter in your neighborhood?  Leave a comment with your location and I'll find an organization in need there!

Hands on Hartford
Interval House Domestic Violence Shelter
Mercy House Shelter
South Park Inn
The House of Bread
Shelter for Women at the Village
The Marshall House Family Shelter

DIY Do-gooding

Designing your Own Drive is an easy and meaningful way to give back this holiday season and all year long!  This is one of the best and easiest ways to make a huge impact in your local community by donating directly to the people who need it.

Easier than you thought, right?

Happy Thanksgiving, do-gooders!

xo Jessica