Freely Giving Friday -- Where to donate items in Jacksonville

It's time for Freely Giving Friday! Go HERE for an explanation of what Freely Giving Friday is all about!

A while back, I gave you many different ideas on how and where to donate the items that you get for free with coupons. Jess (a reader) e-mailed me this week about two fantastic local programs I have never heard of. I thought this would be a great topic for a Freely Giving Friday post.

If you need some ideas on where to donate your personal care and household items locally, these are GREAT!

Angel Kits (Catholic Charities):

This is a ministry that serves a wide variety of people in Jacksonville. They distribute various kits to people who are in need or going through a rough spot in life (i.e. lost their jobs).

How can you help? I'm sure by now you have learned to grab free items, even when you don't need them, and have begun to fill donation boxes in your homes. Here is your chance to pull some of those freebie items out of your donation boxes to put to good use!

You can go HERE to see the different kinds of possible kits you can put together to donate. Each kit must have at least 6 items from the specific list. They also request that you NOT use trial-sized items. Items can be any brand.

All you have to do is put your items in a container of some sort, and drop the kits off at the following location between the hours of 9 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday:

Catholic Charities Jacksonville Region Office
134 East Church Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202

You can see in the picture above the 8 kits that Jess put together. She simply used items she already had on hand that she got for free with couponing! She then went to the Dollar Store and picked up a few additional items, as well as the baskets to put the items in.

Sulzbacher Center:

Located in Downtown Jacksonville, the Sulzbacher Center is Northeast Florida’s only provider of comprehensive services for homeless men, women and children. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – the Sulzbacher Center offers nutritious meals, safe shelter, outstanding health care and high-quality programs to over 300 people each day. Along with a bed, a case manager is assigned to every resident of the Sulzbacher Center who work one-on-one to develop a plan that meets their particular needs. While the average stay at the center is two months, residents may stay longer if their circumstances require it.

The toiletries that they provide their residents come 100% from donations, so this is a great place to donate your items! And it's a little less rigid than the Angel Kits, since you don't have to have a certain number of items to make a kit from.

These are items they are in desperate need of right now:

• Soap
• Deodorant
• Disposable Razors
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Shaving Cream
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Body Lotion
• Bug Repellant
• Lip Balm
• New Underwear, Socks, Gloves & Hats
• New or Used Warm Jackets & Blankets

I'm pretty sure most of us have TONS of these items stored away in our cabinets or donation boxes! My mind is screaming "free at CVS and Walgreens every single week!!!"

The Sulzbacher Center accepts donations any day of the week between the hours of 8 am and 7 pm. They are located at:

611 East Adams Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202

***If you would like any additional information on donating to these organizations, please e-mail me at frugalfunfortune@gmail.com, and I will give you the contact info for both!

Thank you so much for e-mailing me about this, Jess!
You can go here to see previous Freely Giving Friday posts.

What About You: Do you have any stories about how couponing has enabled you to give more to others? If so, feel free to comment below! Or e-mail me with your story, and I will use it as a guest post on the next Freely Giving Friday!