“Nonprofit organizations want donated items that both meet clients’ basic needs and bring them dignity. We want gifts that inspire and give hope and let our young mothers know that someone cares about them, who doesn’t even know them. Giving the vulnerable clients we serve, a positive and meaningful choice of nice quality items is empowering.”
Thank you for your interest in donating items for the young moms and babies at our Centre. We are grateful for your support.
MARCH 2025 Update: At this time, we are at CAPACITY for in kind donations of children’s clothing, toys or baby items. We appreciate our generous donor community, but we will have to PAUSE scheduling donation drop offs to catch up on organizing our current inventory. Thank you for your understanding – we know there are other local charities that could use your support with donations of this nature.
We are accepting donations of casual women’s clothing, appropriate for ages 14-25, in all sizes.
Please always verify our current needs with us prior to scheduling a drop off, in order for our staff/volunteers to manage the flow of sorting the donated items and organizing them to be available for our clients to access regularly. We kindly ask that any second hand items are in gently used/good condition (no stains or mending required) & washed.
Below is a list of items we typically accept:
Young moms:
- Women’s personal care and hygiene items: shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, toothpaste and toothbrushes (full size bottles only please)
- BIPOC toiletries – brands such as SheaMoisture, Maui Moisture, Aunt Jackies, Meielle Organics, Camille Rose, Alikay Naturals, Miss Jessies, Curls, Kaleidoscope, Dream Girls, Beautiful Curls, Carol’s daughter, As I am
- New makeup
- Gift cards – grocery stores, Walmart, Amazon, PC, Shoppers Drug Mart, coffee shops, etc.
- Seasonal: Spring
- Adult women’s Spring coats
- Women’s Spring clothing – jeans, hoodies, sweatpants, leggings, sweaters, t-shirts
- **Please note we are not able to accept second hand women’s bathing suits, socks or underwear
Babies/Kids:
- Formula – such as Similac, Enfamil, Kirkland or Parents Choice Gentle +
- Diapers size 4, 5 and 6 as well as 3t – 4t pull ups
- Baby wipes
- Infant/children’s pain/fever relief medication – new only
- Infant and children’s hygiene items: diaper rash cream, baby/kids shampoo, baby body wash, baby lotion, and kids’ toothpaste and toothbrushes
- Skincare items (Face wash, face lotion, face masks)
- Educational toys, books and games appropriate for infants/toddlers only (At capacity right now)
- Strollers (Jogging styles are preferable as they are more rugged to withstand the winter conditions of Ottawa’s sidewalks)
- Seasonal: Spring
- Children’s shoes/rain boots
- Spring Season new items such as sand toys, small balls, bubbles, chalk, toy cars
If you would like to drop off a donation at Youville Centre, please contact us to make an appointment at info@youvillecentre.org or call 613-231-5150 x104. Please indicate the items you would like to donate, so we can verify our current needs. Please allow at least 2 business days for our internal communication and we will coordinate to schedule with you. Note: we are only able to schedule drop offs during regular business hours, Monday to Friday.
Thank you for thinking of Youville Centre’s young families.
- A few items we are asked about on occasion that we are unfortunately not able to accept for logistical/liability reasons are: cribs and carseats.
- We have limited storage space so we are not always able to accept bulkier baby items such as high chairs, infant seats, exersaucers.