Five Things You Can Easily Donate to Your Local Nursing Home

Your mother was right – it is easy to be nice. There are many ways that you can help others in need, often simply by clearing out your closets and other areas of your home. Your local nursing home is a place that often will welcome your help and kindness in so many ways. Nursing home budgets are often tight and residents are often living on fixed incomes, making it hard for them to afford everyday expenses and certainly the little extras that come about in life. Your thoughtfulness by simply sharing what you have will mean so very much to them, probably more than you will know.

Donating new or used items is a great way to share with others and to be environmentally friendly at the same time. However, you also want to be sensible in making a donation, you want to donate items that will actually be useful to other people. Remember that items must be in new or gently used condition in order to be donated. A good rule of thumb to go by is that if you would not give an item to a friend or a family member, then please do not give it to a nursing home. Now that sounds fair…doesn’t it?

Keep in mind that to be making a big difference, you also do not have to be making a large donation. Even donating two DVDs or two audiotapes is a very thoughtful donation and will help the residents of the nursing home. Twenty residents could wind up listening to and enjoying just one of those audio books, all because of your donation. This donation process is a quick and easy one for you to go about, simply make a call to the correct department and ask them for the proper procedure. This article makes suggestions as to what the correct department would be. Calling ahead saves time and will make your donation go smoothly.

Here are five ideas of things you can donate, but you can probably think of so many more!

1. DVDs – Does your family have DVDs they no longer watch? Most nursing homes have movie nights at least once a week. They are always on the lookout for new movies to show and would love to have some variety. Consider donating your DVDs to your local nursing home. Call the nursing home and ask to speak to the Recreation Department.

2. Large Print Books/Audio books/Magazines – Just about every nursing home has a library and the library is a popular place to be. Most nursing homes want large print books, and they will also accept Audio books as well. Some also would like magazines. Magazines can not only be used for the library, but can also be used for arts & crafts. Call the nursing home and ask to speak to the Recreation Department. Describe the books, Audio books and magazines that you have for donation.

3. Arts & Crafts Supplies – Did you try knitting and just never get the hang of it? Do you have crochet materials you aren’t using? Do you have a large pile of felt left over from a school project the kids did? Chances are your local nursing home might be interested in it for their arts & crafts department. Call the nursing home and ask to speak to the Recreation Department, to the person who manages arts & crafts.

4. Board Games – Do you have classic board games at home that your family just never enjoys? Maybe they just aren’t your style. Well many nursing homes have daily Scrabble games and other classic board games are played at a fanatical pace. They would love to have extra board games, because more board games means that more players can play. Call the nursing home and ask to speak to the Recreation Department, to the person who handles games.

5. Clothing – Did your company order button down shirts with the company logo and get them in the wrong color? Or maybe the wrong size? Or perhaps you have gently used clothing that your family has not worn much that you’d like to donate. Your local nursing home could be grateful to have it. Some nursing home residents live on very limited budgets, and buying new clothes can often be a big stretch for them. Receiving donated clothing can be a big help for them, as long as it is handled properly. First, make sure that clothing is new or gently used. Call the nursing home and ask to speak to the Social Work department and explain that you have clothing that can be donated and describe the clothing in full detail. They will probably ask you for size information and what type of clothing it is (summer, winter, fall, spring). The residents receiving this clothing from you will be very grateful that you thought of them.