Coronavirus Update:What patients and families need to know
Donations to Dr. Bear's Closet
Dr. Bear's Closet Wish List
Donations are a vital part of what we do in Volunteer Services. Children’s National Hospital accepts brand new toys, books, games, clothing and gift cards for Dr. Bear’s Closet.
View the wish list
Please note: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are only able to accept donations of approved items that are mailed/shipped or purchased through our online wish list until further notice. Thank you for your understanding, patience and continued support during this time.
Donations
Thank you for your interest in donating and supporting Children’s National Hospital! Your donations will be given to patients and family members during their hospital visit to provide comfort, offer distractions and to normalize the hospital setting.
With patient safety being our top priority, we are taking an abundance of caution and have revamped our donation guidelines with infection prevention in mind. These standards allow us to ensure the highest level of quality and safety for our patients. Children's National Hospital has implemented a contactless donation process this year.
Please review our wish list, donation guidelines and FAQs below. Have a question that is not listed here? Please email us or call (202) 476-2062.
How Can I Make a Donation?
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Online Donations – Online Wish List
You can donate toys and games directly to Dr. Bear’s Closet through our online wish list. 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!
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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
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We have received a tremendous amount of support and interest from individuals and companies asking to donate critical supplies to our system. To learn more about how you can support our ongoing needs to respond to the public health emergency impacting our community, please view this document. Thank you for your understanding, patience and continued support during this time.
Guidelines
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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.
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- 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
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For infection control reasons, we are
unable to accept any used items.
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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.
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Donors should receive a hard-copy tax receipt for all monetary gifts received by the hospital. We thank you in advance for your donation.
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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.
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For infection control, safety and confidentiality reasons, donors are not able to visit with or distribute gifts directly to patients.
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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.
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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.
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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).