ITEMS IN GREATEST NEED

• Buttons

• Playing cards

• Craft sticks (regular & jumbo size, tongue compressors, chopsticks, short dowels)

• Liquid laundry detergent lids

• Puzzle pieces

• Gatorade, Powerade, BodyArmor bottles & lids

• Straws

• Pom poms

ACCEPTED ITEMS - NEW ONLY

• Straws (bendy or straight), coffee stirrers (plastic or wood)

• Craft sticks (regular & jumbo size, tongue depressors, chopsticks, short dowels)

• Masking tape, painter’s tape, duct tape

• Glue Dots

• Glue sticks (for small glue guns)

ACCEPTED ITEMS - NEW OR USED

• Cardboard Rolls - empty paper towel rolls, tape rolls, short cardboard tubes (no toilet paper rolls)

• Drink items – wine or champagne corks, pull tab from aluminum cans, plastic coffee stirrers (7 in) & stoppers

• Plastic items – contact lens cases (from dailies), plastic forks or spoons (no knives)

• Hard plastic bottles (no flimsy water bottles) – small or medium size sport drink bottles (Gatorade, Powerade, BodyArmor, Prime), square hydrogen peroxide bottles

• Small, single serve plastic containers – yogurt & applesauce cups (no larger than 8 oz.)

• Plastic lids – liquid laundry detergent lids, soda & water bottle lids, plastic lids from food & deli containers, lids from milk & juice containers, lids from baby food pouches

• Toys – cardboard puzzle pieces, tennis & ping pong balls, plastic Easter eggs, marbles, playing cards, plastic chips (math counters or poker chips), dominoes, board game accessories

• Craft items – googly eyes (medium or large only), pipe cleaners, feathers, fake flowers (small or medium), felt, satin cord, skinny satin ribbon (1/8” or 1/4”), animal print fabric, scrapbook or colorful construction paper

• Wood pieces – dowels, clothes pins, new chopsticks, popsicle/craft sticks, tongue depressors, coffee stirrers, wooden blocks

• Miscellaneous – CDs/DVDs and CD/DVD cases, ornament hooks, binder clips (small or medium size), paper clips, brass fasteners, film canisters

• Sewing/Quilting – buttons, yarn, empty spools, stuffing, felt, fabric (please call us before bringing in fabric)

NOT ACCEPTED ITEMS

• NEW AS OF 6/1/24 - All nut-product lids or containers (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.) even if washed

• NEW AS OF 6/1/24 - Toilet paper rolls (as per CDC guidelines)

• NEW AS OF 9/1/24 - Prescription and vitamin bottles

• Dirty or rusted items

• Sharp objects (pins, needles, etc.)

• Confetti, glitter, clay, playdough

• Stuffed animals

• Glass items

• Toy weapons (toy knives, toy guns, etc.)

Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle!

Our upcycling program needs your supplies! We accept and will upcycle most items that you’re going to throw away or recycle, from large corporations, small companies, and individuals. Help us keep the landfills free from perfectly reusable materials.

We accept items from individuals and professional organizers who are cleaning out craft closets/cabinets, art studios, sewing room stashes, and children’s bedroom/playrooms.

Does your business throw away or recycle items we can use? We accept business overstock or retired inventory, production scraps, and samples or seconds. We can help businesses meet their ESG/zero waste goals.

We cannot put on the fun STEAM + Creativity programs that we do without donations from wonderful people like you. Items that you donate can become captivating and creative learning tools and materials.

Child Creativity Lab will use your donated materials to:

• Create STEAM Challenge Kits for CCL educational workshops held in Orange County elementary schools and community centers.

• Distribute to educators, families, and crafters for their own educational or recreational projects.

Interested in participating in a Donation Drive?

Child Creativity Lab always has materials we’re in greatest need of that we would love to collaborate with you to coordinate a Donation Drive for!

Whether your corporate office or your high school club wants to collect, we have options to cater to your needs. We provide donation drive boxes and curated flyers for your specific drive, as well as transportation for picking up your material donations if needed.

Please reach out to our Depot Coordinator at susannaandrews@childcreativitylab.org to learn more about becoming involved in this way. We will support you through the process, and appreciate your interest in collecting materials for us and being apart of our mission of supporting youth.