In-Kind Donations & More Ways to Give

In-Kind Donations

Project Name: Safe & Sound Mom and Baby Welcome Kits
Project Description: Families entering our domestic violence shelters at times arrive with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Hold a drive to collect essentials for the babies in these families or for those soon to be born; items such as: receiving blankets, onesies, bottles, pacifiers, socks, bibs, wash cloths, baby lotion, diapers, wipes, and formula. Find a list of items here.
Project Location: Your office 
Project Date: Year round
Project Budget: TBD

Project Name: Book Drive
Project Description: Libraries in several of our residences have recently been refurbished but many of the books and magazines on the shelves are outdated and in poor condition. Hold a book or magazine drive in your office to replenish the contents in these libraries so that our clients are up-to-date with current events and able to enjoy today's bestsellers. Find a list of sample titles here.
Project Location: Your office
Project Date: Year round
Project Budget: N/A

Project Name: Kitchen Housewarming Package for Veterans
Project Description: Raise funds to purchase housewarming gifts for formerly homeless veterans who are about to move into apartments of their own. For most of these men and women, this is their first permanent home in a long time, and they are starting from scratch. A Kitchen Welcome Package may include pots and pans, a set of dishes, silverware and utensils, and some condiments, and pantry staples. Find a list of items here.
Project Location: Your office
Project Date: Year round
Project Budget: TBD

Project Name: “A Room of One's Own" Welcome Package
Project Description: Raise funds to provide new bed linens and pajamas for foster children entering a new group home. Imagine coming into a group home, not knowing anyone and having very few, if any, of your own possessions. That is the reality for most children in the foster care system. When these young people arrive in our Northern New Jersey residences, we would love for them to be able to have a new set of linens, a comforter, a pillow, and a set of pajamas to keep and call their own. They can then take these cherished possessions with them when they transition to their first independent homes.
Project Location: Your office
Project Date: Year round
Project Budget: $875-$1,575 for one 5-9 person group home, assuming $175 per set

Project Name: Back to Basics Kits
Project Description: Hold a drive to collect basic items needed by residents in all of our facilities. Examples of much-needed basics include kits of soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant and moisturizer. (Please - no razors or mouthwash.) For the men at our shelter on Wards Island, we always need new socks and underwear. For the children at our Early Learning Center in the South Bronx, each month we use dozens of pull-up diapers, as most of the children are not potty trained when they enter the program. Find a list of items here.
Project Location: Your office or our Manhattan Headquarters
Project Date: Year round
Project Budget: TBD

Project Name: Early Learning Starter Backpack
Project Description: At our Early Learning Center in the South Bronx, most of the 270 children we serve live in poverty and have developmental delays. Many don't have a single book in their home, and very few speak English when they begin with us. You can help get these children off to a good start – and actively engage their families in the learning process – by giving them a backpack to take home filled with a “starter library" as well as watercolors, crayons and a drawing pad or coloring book. For the 1st year students we include picture books about starting school and potty-training. For the 2nd year students, at the start of the year, we include an "all about me" book and, for the end of the school year, a book about starting kindergarten. Early Learning Starter Backpacks also include a composition notebook in which teachers write daily notes home to parents, wipes, a sippy cup, and a durable snack food container so that the children can bring to school foods that are comforting to them.
Project Location: Your office or our school in the Bronx
Project Date: June or July
Project Budget: Flexible

Project Name: Re-Gift It!
Project Description: Do you receive gifts that you simply can't use but someone else might LOVE? We'll take them! Collect new, good-quality gift items at your workplace for adults and the elderly. We will give them to our residents as gifts on birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and other special occasions.
Project Location: Your office
Project Date: Year round, but especially during the December holidays
Project Budget: N/A

Project Name: Valentines for Veterans
Project Description: Show veterans in our care some love by making or purchasing Valentine cards, along with boxes of chocolates/candy, and warm winter clothing (gloves, socks, hats). Let these vets know you care and appreciate their service. 
Project Location: Your office
Project Date: For Valentine's Day
Project Budget: TBD

More Ways to Give

Stocks

Gifts of appreciated securities (stocks) are a popular alternative to making a cash gift as they may offer you additional tax advantages. In addition to receiving an income tax deduction for the full market value of the securities, you may also avoid capital gains on the appreciation of your stocks. If your donated securities are used to fund a charitable trust or gift annuity there may be estate and gift tax advantages as well. To make such a gift, do not sell the stock and donate the proceeds, as this will jeopardize your tax benefits. Instead, notify your broker and contact the Development Department at (212) 496-4345 for the account numbers in order to make an electronic transfer.

Matching Gifts

If your employer offers a matching gift program, you may be able to double your gift to Volunteers of America—Greater New York. Please contact your company’s Human Resources department for a matching gift form and send us the completed form to donors@voa-gny.org or by mail to: 

Development Department
Volunteers of America—Greater New York
135 West 50th Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10020

Vehicle Donations

Click here to donate your vehicle and help support local Volunteers of America programs.

NYC Combined Federal Campaign

Federal employees can donate to VOA - Greater New York through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Designate your donations to VOA- Greater New York, CFC #79127.