BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
Back-to-school season is a great time to donate. Kids have outgrown things. Backpacks didn’t survive the year. Notebooks never got opened. Most of it ends up in the trash, and a smaller portion ends up at Goodwill, where it’s gone in days.
“The school year can impose a significant strain on the family budget,” says Stacy Taylor, a marketing specialist at Goodwill Industries of Central Florida, “and with the rising cost of new goods, it can be a challenge for families to give their kids something trendy and stylish, but also useful and useable.”
That’s the gap donations fill. And the weeks before school starts are when Goodwill needs them most.
6 useful items to donate before back-to-school season
Clothes and shoes
Kids’ clothing and shoes are always the first ask. School uniforms, sneakers, gym shorts, jeans, polos, graphic tees, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts. Truly anything gently worn is fair game.
Taylor notes that thrifted school clothes make practical sense for families: “If they get dirty or worn out by recess, outgrown, or just unwanted, these items are more cost-effective to donate and replace than just buying new.”
This is especially true for kids who are still growing fast. Buying secondhand and donating back when something no longer fits keeps the cycle moving without the guilt of throwing out something that still has wear in it.
Bags and lunchboxes
Gently used backpacks, lunchboxes, and bags go fast this time of year. Messenger bags and laptop bags are in demand too, especially as older kids head into middle and high school.
Check the zippers and straps before donating. If it’s functional, someone will use it.
Water bottles and travel mugs
Reusable water bottles, travel mugs, and coffee tumblers are a quiet hit at Goodwill around back-to-school time. Teachers, in particular, stock up on these in August before the school year kicks off. A water bottle you haven’t used in six months is one a teacher can put to daily use.
School supplies
School supplies are worth going through before you toss them. New or barely touched markers, colored pencils, and crayons can go. So can unused notebooks, binders, and gently used pencil sharpeners. If there’s a pen you grabbed from a conference bag and never opened, add it to the pile.
Goodwill also takes learning toys and Montessori-style materials kids have aged out of, as well as academic books from past school years. Taylor adds: “We’ll even take participation trophies.”
Dorm room items
For anyone clearing out a spare room, or parents whose kids have already headed to campus: mini refrigerators, blenders, toasters, and coffee makers are what college students hunt for in August. They’re expensive new and move quickly at thrift prices.
Make sure everything is clean, working, and has all its cords and parts. Goodwill can’t resell items that are missing components or clearly non-functional.
Why right now
Families are shopping now, not in a month. The same lunchbox nobody wanted at a May yard sale will be gone from a Goodwill shelf in three days.
Most of what ends up in the back-to-school trash pile is still useful. It’s just outgrown. Donating takes about as long as bagging it up for the curb.
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