Babies grow out of everything from clothing to infant car seats in the blink of an eye! It can be hard to figure out what to do with all the baby gear you no longer need. Between listing all your items and negotiating with hagglers, selling baby clothes on eBay or Facebook can be a time-consuming hassle. Gifting your child’s hand-me-downs to a growing family may be easier and more gratifying. But if you don’t know any new moms in your area, you may be wondering, where can you donate baby clothes? Here’s a list of worthy charities and organizations that accept baby clothes.
Where to Donate Baby Clothes
1. Foster Closets
Children in foster care usually have very few belongings and need support. Foster closets are nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost necessities to foster kids and parents, including clothes, books, and bedding. These closets are often run by volunteers and rely on community donations, so they’re great places to support if you’re wondering where to donate baby clothes. Look up “foster closets near me” or call your local CPS to find out how to drop off your gently used items.
2. Buy Nothing Groups
Buy Nothing groups are forums where you can offer free, gently used items like baby clothes to people in your community. You can also respond to requests for household goods if you’re willing to donate the items someone needs. These gifting groups are usually hosted on Facebook or the Buy Nothing app. Membership is limited to households in your area, so you won’t have to pay any shipping costs to donate baby clothes. Just keep in mind that trading, bartering, and selling aren’t allowed. You can find your local forum here.
3. Baby Banks and Pregnancy Centers
Similar to foster closets, baby banks are organizations that provide material resources to low-income parents. They’re always in need of gently used baby clothes and gear, so see if you can find one in your area to donate to. Pregnancy centers that serve expectant mothers could also make use of your secondhand items.
4. Giving Factory Direct
Wondering where to donate baby clothes if you don’t have a baby bank in your area? Try Giving Factory Direct, an organization that helps clothing-insecure children. All you have to do is enter the size of the baby clothes you want to donate and Giving Factory will match you with a family in need. You’ll receive a free shipping label so you can package your items and drop them off at UPS. Just make sure that your donations don’t have any rips, stains, or personalized name tags before you send them off.
5. Thrift Stores
Thrift stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army are also great places to drop off gently used baby clothes. Although secondhand shops make customers pay for merchandise, the profits they earn support their charity efforts. Goodwill, for example, spends more than 80% of its revenue on job training programs for veterans and people with disabilities. Plus, thrift stores often give shopping vouchers to partner organizations like The Red Cross, which are then distributed to people in need.
6. Churches
The final entry on our list of where to donate baby clothes is one of your local churches. Many congregations run clothing drives to support families in the community and would appreciate your donation. Some churches even have their own baby banks, so call a few religious organizations in your area and see who accepts infant apparel.
Hopefully, we’ve helped you figure out where to donate baby clothes to make a difference in your community. Are there any organizations or charities we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance writer who enjoys learning about and discussing the psychology of money. In her free time, she loves to cook and tackle DIY projects.
