Donations to Dr. Bear's Closet

How Can I Make a Donation?

• In-Kind Donations to Dr. Bear's Closet

  Thanksgiving Donations

  Join Volunteer Services in supporting patients and families this holiday season! This Thanksgiving, 50 gift bags complete with food/grocery store gift cards, winter clothing, comfort items, and toys will be provided to families in need. Donations are greatly needed to help fill each family's bag and provide impactful support for the holidays. Donations can be made directly through our online Thanksgiving wish list! Please donate by November 10, 2021.

  Online Donations – Online Wish List

  You can donate toys, games and clothing directly to Dr. Bear’s Closet through our online wish list. To help meet the current needs of the hospital, we recommend sorting the wish list by our favorites! Items will be directly shipped to the Volunteer Services office and distributed to patients throughout the year.

  Mailing Donations

  Brand new items purchased with recommendations from our wish list (PDF) can be shipped/mailed directly to the Volunteer Services office at the address below. Please print and complete our In-Kind Donation Form, and include with your donation.

  Children’s National Hospital
  Attn: Volunteer Services Office, Suite 1180
  111 Michigan Ave NW
  Washington, DC 20010

  If your donation is too large to mail, please email us. We are happy to arrange a donation drop-off with you at a scheduled date and time. Thank you!

• Monetary Donations to Dr. Bear’s Closet

  Making a monetary donation to Dr. Bear’s Closet allows us to purchase highly requested items for patients and families as well as the programs we support.

  By Check

  Please make checks payable to Children’s National Medical Center or CNMC with “Dr. Bear’s Closet” in the memo line and mail to:

  Children’s National Hospital
  Attn: Volunteer Services Office, Suite 1180
  111 Michigan Ave NW
  Washington, DC 20010

  Online

  Make an online donation to Dr. Bear’s Closet

• Covid-19 Support

  We have received a tremendous amount of interest and support from individuals and companies asking how they can donate critical supplies and items at this time. Please view our current Wish List for our special isolation patients, and view this document (PDF) to learn more about ongoing community support opportunities. Thank you for your continued support during this time! 

Guidelines

• Donation Guidelines

  All in-kind donations must be:

  • Brand new (purchased within the last 3-6 months)
  • In original packaging
  • Free of strong scents or odors
  • Non-toxic
  • Latex free
  • Stuffed animals must still have tags

  Please refer to our Dr. Bear’s Closet wish list for approved items that we can accept and refer to our list of items below that we cannot accept.

• Items We Cannot Accept

  • Items that are gift-wrapped
  • Any used or opened items
  • Items that have been in storage (donated items must have been purchased within the last 3-6 months)
  • Handmade knit, fleece or crocheted blankets or clothing (i.e. hats)
  • Items that contain latex
  • Cards, notes or letters (including homemade cards)
  • Items that have been exposed to smoke or other strong scents
  • Food/candy/formula
  • Stuffed animals without a tag
  • Collectible items
  • Sharp items (i.e. threading needle, pencil sharpeners)
  • Breakable items (i.e. porcelain, glass, handmade wooden toys)
  • Stuffed animals more than 18 inches tall
  • Beanie babies or other stuffed animals with small pellets
  • Items that contain any personal information
  • Handmade jewelry
  • Toys, books or movies with sensitive issues (i.e. violence, politics, holidays, religion, death, divorce, weapons, etc.)

FAQs

• Does Dr. Bear’s Closet accept gently used items?

  For infection control reasons, we are unable to accept any used items.

• Will I get a receipt for donating items in-kind to Dr. Bear’s Closet?

  When mailing/shipping donations, please complete the In-Kind Donation Form and include with your donation for acknowledgement and recording purposes. Once a donation is made, donors will receive an acknowledgement letter for personal record keeping purposes. Donors may wish to attach a value for record-keeping purposes (i.e. purchase receipt).

  If donating through our online wish list, donors will receive an emailed donation acknowledgement.

• Will I get a receipt for making a monetary donation to Dr. Bear’s Closet?

  Donors should receive a hard-copy tax receipt for all monetary gifts received by the hospital. We thank you in advance for your donation.

• Can I donate handmade items?

  Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not accepting donations of handmade knit, crochet or fleece blankets, quilts or clothing. We are also not able to accept donations of homemade greeting cards. Thank you for your understanding and patience during this time. Please continue to check this webpage for future updates.

• Can I visit with or distribute gifts directly to patients?

  For infection control, safety and confidentiality reasons, donors are not able to visit with or distribute gifts directly to patients.

• How can I host a toy drive or gift card drive?

  For safety reasons, we currently encourage donors to focus on giving through our online wish list. If you do plan to host a drive to collect brand new items for our patients and families, please ensure that proper precautions are in place.

• Do you offer service hours for donating?

  We typically reserve service hours for individuals volunteering onsite at Children's National Hospital. However, due to our current limited onsite opportunities, we can sign off on service hours for individuals who engaged in service projects or hosted a donation drive to benefit the hospital.

• What else can I do to help?

  Thank you for your interest in supporting Children’s National Hospital! For a list of current community support opportunities, please see our Community Support Opportunities Guide (PDF).