Donating to a shelter
What homeless shelters need, and why to call before you donate
Homeless shelters commonly ask for new socks and new underwear, warm winter clothing, personal hygiene products and gift cards12. Every shelter's list is different and it changes with the season, so call the one you want to help before you bring anything.
If you were thinking of giving items to Engage and Change: we take new items only, in bulk, from companies, schools and faith groups. On your own, the way to help our kits is to give toward one, and $50 helps build a kit3.
Before you go
Call the shelter before you bring anything.
Ask what they are short on, whether they take used clothing, and when you can drop off. On the City of Toronto's 2017 wish list, agencies gave set drop-off hours, and a few took donations by arrangement only2.
In Toronto, the City has posted a Holiday Wish List in past years: a map of City-funded agencies that serve people experiencing homelessness, each with the items it needs1. Outside Toronto, 2-1-1 answers 24 hours a day in most of Canada4 and can point you to shelters and drop-ins near you.
The list
What shows up on shelter wish lists.
- New socks
- New underwear, in a range of sizes
- Winter coats, hats, mittens, gloves and scarves
- Personal hygiene products
- Sleeping bags and blankets, especially for street outreach
- Gift cards, often for groceries
- Money
Three agencies on that same 2017 list asked for socks or underwear new by name, and one that took gently used sleeping bags still wanted its long johns new2. Gift cards and money let a shelter buy what it is short on, in the sizes it needs.
Used clothing
Can you donate used clothes to a shelter?
Some shelters take gently used winter clothing if it has been freshly laundered, and others take new items only2. Ask when you call. Wash everything first, and keep socks and underwear new.
Engage and Change cannot take used clothing, or drop-offs of any kind from individuals, so please take used clothes to a shelter that has told you yes.
Why new
Why every item in our kits is new.
Every item in a Project Winter Survival kit is new, for hygiene and for dignity3. Someone who gets a kit will sleep in that sleeping bag and brush their teeth with that toothbrush, so both reach them still in the packaging.
The other reason is how the kits get packed. In January, company teams form assembly lines and fill 3,500 kits in one day, each with 30+ items3. A line like that needs the same item for every kit, by the thousand, which a box of mixed donations cannot supply. For the same reason we cannot take homemade kits.
Organized drives
Running a drive? Bring it in bulk.
Companies, schools and faith groups can run their own drive of new items and deliver it to us in bulk3. The drives that fit a kit are a lot of one item:
- Surplus event swag, like toques, scarves, water bottles or backpacks
- Overstock from a warehouse or a 3PL: socks, hygiene products, hand warmers
- A staff, student or congregation drive for one item on the kit list, like new socks or toothbrushes
Tell us what you have before you start. There are minimum quantities, and we check every item against the kit list. Companies start on the For Companies page, and schools and faith groups use the form on Get Involved.
Companies can also bring a team to pack on January 16, 2027. A company donates to bring its team.
On your own
On your own, give toward a kit.
$50 helps build a Project Winter Survival kit: 30+ new items, including a sleeping bag and a backpack, bought at wholesale so the money goes further3. The kits go to more than 200 front-line agencies across the GTA, including shelters and outreach programs like the ones on this page, who hand them to the people they work with3.
Questions people ask
The short answers.
What do homeless shelters need most?
What should you not donate to a homeless shelter?
Anything the shelter has not said it can use, so call first. Agencies on the City's wish lists asked for socks and underwear new2, and some take new items only.
Can you donate clothes to homeless shelters?
Some shelters take gently used, freshly laundered winter clothing, and some take new only2. Call before you bring a bag. Engage and Change does not take used clothing.
Can I drop off donations at Engage and Change?
No. We cannot take drop-offs or homemade kits from individuals. Companies, schools and faith groups can deliver new items in bulk after talking to us first. On your own, you can give toward a kit: $50 helps build one3.
Is it better to donate money or items to a shelter?
Ask the shelter, because some need one specific item more than anything else. For our kits, money goes further, because we buy at wholesale3.
Can my company or school donate items in bulk?
Yes, if the items are new. Surplus swag, overstock and staff or student drives all work. Tell us what you have before you start: companies through our For Companies page, schools and faith groups through Get Involved.
Sources
- City of Toronto, "On Giving Tuesday, City of Toronto gives thanks..." News release, November 28, 2023 (describes the City's annual Holiday Wish List of City-funded agencies supporting people experiencing homelessness). toronto.ca news release.
- Daily Hive, "City of Toronto releases the most needed items at shelters this holiday season." December 20, 2017, reporting the City of Toronto's 2017 Holiday Wish List. dailyhive.com.
- Engage and Change. Project Winter Survival kit list, pack-day process and program figures, engageandchange.org (project-winter-survival, get-involved, donate, companies), as of October 2026, as confirmed by the board, October 11, 2026. Project Winter Survival.
- 211 Canada. 211.ca.
Sources checked October 11, 2026.