Giving Away Toys

L.,
Do you belong to a church? I know ours has a lot of mission outreach. Plenty that local and far away. Calling a church may be able to help you with any local groups in your area that are need of these items especially this time of year. Other than the big organizations you mentioned this may be another option for you. Preschools also may be looking for donations. Books I would think for sure. Just another option to call upon. I ope this helps you.
L. R

I did a mass cleaning and offered them free on craigslist. I recieved more than 10 emails that 1st day. Hope this helps!

I would call first before taking them anywhere. Because of the law that passed in 2008 requiring proof of safety before selling/re-selling, tons of places can no longer accept/use donated toys. St. Vincent will take them, but they also trash them (as explained by the manager last month), and can only use/re-sell brand new toys. Most places don't have the equipment that is necessary to fulfill the new guidelines.

You might want to try freecycle.org, which is a great way to post what you're giving away and folks that need them will pick them up.

I don't have a great answer - and I'd love it if you could drop me a PM if you get one. I asked a similar question last year. I had like-new toys to give away - you'd think that would be easy during the holiday season. But it turns out that most groups collecting toys for charity only want new toys. They won't take them if they aren't brand new in the box. I tried women's shelters, outreach centers for the homeless, everything I could think of.

My church nursery already has a lot of toys, and my daycare doesn't take used toys either. Neither of those suggestions worked for me.

Again, let me know if you find somewhere!

Local daycare centers and pre-schools LOVE to get donations! As do churches and MOPS groups.