To ask you to donate to your local women's refuge please ?

[Heswall]

Honestly I have thrown out better bedding and equipment than they are asking women to sleep on in these places.
I had cause to visit somebody in one over the weekend and was shocked at the state of the conditions. Pillows like crisp packets, duvets that stink of god knows what, prisoners have better.

If you've got a pile of unmatching bedding, pillows that you are thinking of replacing could you take it down to your local council offices I guess.
Thank you

Uanbu. Over the weekend I have sorted loads of stuff, including bedding, to donate.

NBU- but surely we can't just tip up at the council? Won't they just bin it?

I wish I had known about this. I sometimes give good stuff to my local charity shops and would much prefer to give to Refuges. Good to know about.

not all refuges accept general donations, it can be quite hard to give to them.

My plan is to take it to the council offices and tell them I want them to take it to their safe houses and refuges.
I spoke to a worker at the hostel and she said that the council bring what they can around to the hostel so I cannot work out any other way of getting it to them really.

Honestly the mattress's and the bedding was appalling, you'd have to be desperate to sleep on it, the carpeted floor was just as bad otherwise I'd have preferred that myself.

I have a lot of things I want to give to a refuge but can't find out how to get it to them as their locations are, quite understandably, kept hidden. If anyone can suggest how to get in contact I will do it.

I had a huge sort out before christmas, contacted refuge by their general enquiry form, had an email back about 2 weeks later from a lady who said she would pass my details on to my local coordinator and have heard nothing since despite emailing several times.

I have baby clothes, girls clothes, womens clothes, toys, bedding and lots of general household type items so if anyone figures out how to get donations to refuge please let me know

I had a tv to donate recently I goggled our local shelter's helpline and rang and offered they were very keen if I had anything else to do the same again (the tv was too big as the rooms are small).

You can try your local refuge via women's aid

www.womensaid.org.uk/azrefuges.asp?section=00010001000800060002

Thanks for the reminder - I've been meaning to do this and keep forgetting. I've just emailed my local refuge.

when I went to refuge, all the donations were kept in a locked room. The volunteers went through and took the pick of the best and we weren't allowed near it. One the girls I was staying with picked the lock and we got in and took some bits, a few clothes for our children.

So I'm a bit wary!

what chop said not all refuges will take donations they need to be contacted first , I donated a few times to local womens aid but they dont always have storage for lots of thing. Its a fab thing to do but do call them first ,

I haven't thought about bedding etc., I will have a sort out.

I have donated some baby and toddler clothes to our local refuge and they have always welcomed them.

look here for your local refuge

I emailed the refuge and asked if they would be interested in the dc's clothes and then I arranged a time to drop it off.

I phoned my local number last week after seeing the media articles about the threat of closures and cuts to funding. I simply asked what they needed.

Someone is coming around to collect some things this week.

I've just had a reply saying they'd like the stuff and they will come and collect it :)

Some council websites give links to refuge websites and they will tell you how best to donate. (Except my local one which doesn't have its own website so I've got to delve further!)

My plan is to take it to the council offices and tell them I want them to take it to their safe houses and refuges.

Good luck with that then because my council wouldn't touch it with a barge pole and if you left it in their offices anyway, they'd probably fine you for fly tipping.

Phoning the refuge or looking online is a much better idea.

We have regular collections via our church (in particular, a big Christmas present collection), and a trusted person takes it direct to the Refuge, with no-one else given any details. There may be some other local systems like that?

It must vary a lot by area.

I had a lot of stuff to give away last year before we moved -- lots of nice baby clothes, bedding, even a barely used double mattress! My local women's aid refuge said they didn't need any of it. The local homeless shelter didn't want it. The local charity helping homeless people move into new housing didn't want it. I contacted a number of other charities who only wanted money, not items.

In the end I put them on freecycle and gave them to some very needful people that way.

I understand places can't take things they don't have room for, but it's very frustrating when you don't have much money but do have items and want to help.

\HOMESTART will also take donations of childrens clothes and bedding and furniture just google HOMESTART (your area )

Thats a good idea, i am going to do that instead of taking stuff to the charity shop. Thanks.

Great idea! I'm moving home and starting afresh with lots of things, bed, chest of drawers, cooker so I've just called my local Womens Aid to see if they could use them. Had to leave a message on voicemail so hopefully they will call me back..

I rang my local Women's Aid before Christmas and offered tinned food and baby clothes. They welcomed it and I dropped it at their office. I just googled Women's Aid and my postcode.

I've phoned several in my area to donate a pram and lots of other baby bits. I've been turned down by all of them. I'm looking for anyone to take the pram off my hands, but what more can I do?