Pre-CNY spring cleaning often leaves us with many unwanted items that are still functional and in good conditions. Apart from giving them to your friends and family or sell them on Carousell, you can also donate the items to various charity centres in Singapore to help out those in need.
And before you start Googling the nearest The Salvation Army drop-off locations, you might want to know that the familiar charity organisation receive a lot more than they can give out, and more often than not, your donation items still end up in landfills. That’s why we have gathered 11 places other than The Salvation Army where you can donate items that no longer “spark joy”.
Books
1. Dignity Mama
With four kiosks located in hospitals across Singapore, Dignity Mama is a project that sells secondhand books while providing employment to young adults with special needs. If you have unwanted books to donate, fill up the form here and the staff will guide you through the next steps.
Currently, only the Dignity Mama kiosks at Ng Teng Fong Hospital and National University Hospital accept drop-offs. See their addresses here.
2. FairPrice Share-A-Textbook
You can donate your child’s old textbooks in good conditions to FairPrice’s initiative Share-A-Textbook that distributes them to children from needy, low-income families. the donation drive usually runs for one month and happen towards the end of the year, which means you will need to hold on to these old textbooks until the end of this year.
Keep an eye out for this page to know the exact dates of this year’s donation period.
3. Book Exchange Corner @ National Library Board
Several National Library Board branches have Book Exchange Corners where you can bring your unwanted books for other people to enjoy.
4. School libraries
Check with the libraries in your alma maters or schools in your area to see if they accept book donations. If you are donating fiction books. make sure the content is age-appropriate.
Clothes
5. Greensquare
Greensquare is a young social enterprise providing free textile recycling services to households and organisations in Singapore to promote sustainability. Accepted items include clothing, shoes, accessories and household linens.
If your items weigh at least 15kg, simply schedule a collection on their website and Greensquare will collect them at your doorstep. For lighter items, you can bring to their drop-off locations.
Food
6. Food Bank Singapore
If you have found a lot of unwanted food items after clearing out your cupboard, don’t toss them in the trash just yet. Food Bank Singapore collect unopened non-perishable food items with at least four weeks of shelf life and send them to the less fortunate in Singapore. See this post for the list of drop-off locations.
Miscellaneous
7. Freecycle Network Singapore
The Freecycle Network Singapore is a nonprofit movement that allows you to sell or buy secondhand items that are still in working condition with the aim of reducing wastage. They have a public Facebook group where you can join and post about items you would like to let go. The group is very active with more than 3000 members so there’s a high chance you will be able to find new home for your unwanted items.
8. MINDS Shops
MINDS (Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore) has four thrift stores across Singapore named MINDS Shops where you can donate items such as furniture, clothes, collectibles and home wares. All proceeds go to MINDS’s trainees as allowance. These shops also provide vocational training to these trainees where they learn to interact with customers.
Before bringing your items down to one of their shops, refer to this list to see what items can and cannot be accepted. You can drop off the items in the collection bin outside every MINDS Shop or pass them directly to the staffs. More information on the donation process can be found here.
MINDS Shops: various locations
9. Pass It On
Pass It On is a non-profit online platform that distributes pre-loved but fully functional items to the needy via Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWO). You can list unwanted items to be donated, or check out their wish list to see if any of your unwanted items is among what has been requested.
For delivery, you can pay for your items to be collected, bring the items to the respective VWO, or request for the collection to be paid by the VWO. More information here.
10. Something Old Something New
Something Old Something New is a social enterprise thrift store under the operation of Singapore Anglican Community Services with eight outlets in Singapore for you to drop off pre-loved clothes and other functional items. You can also schedule for pick-up of more bulky items.
For enquiries, call 6812 0879 or email [email protected].
Something Old Something New: various locations.
11. Metta Welfare Association
Metta Welfare Association works with various recycling organisations to sort out donation items such as wearable clothing, accessories, books and newspapers. These items will be collected by the recycling organisations in exchange for donations. You can also recycle your secondhand electronics at their Green Charity Drive. E-waste recycling firm, Tes-Amm, will make a donation of corresponding value for each item received.
Make sure your items are functional and placed in a plastic bag before dropping them off at the recycle bin located in the basement car park of the Metta buidling.
Metta Welfare Association: 32 Simei Street 1, Metta Building, Singapore 529950.
12. OLIO App
Instead of having to a trip to drop off donation items at charity centres, OLIO App makes giving easier by connecting you with your neighbours who will happily receive your unwanted food and other items such as cosmetics or over-the-counter medicine.
Featured image credit: Money Crashers
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