For those of you with “gently used” bathroom safety equipment that you no longer need, donating it to individuals in need is a wonderful gesture. A bath chair in good shape can be donated to any number of organizations, as well as directly to a private individual online.
The organizations accepting donations of “gently used” bath chairs include – State Assistive Technology Projects, state online equipment exchanges, reuse centers, community loan closets (state and local), Bikur Cholim, non-profit charities, thrift stores, medical equipment refurbishment projects, faith based organizations, senior centers, veterans centers and local churches. You can donate directly to private individuals on classified listing websites and social media platforms with marketplaces.
Contents Overview & Quicklinks
Donating bath chairs and other used medical equipment to State Assistive Technology Programs
Donating bath chairs to refurbishing and reuse Centers
Donating bath chairs to Centers for Independent Living
Donating bath chairs to Medical Equipment Loan Closets
National and international organizations which accept durable medical equipment donations
Online listing sites where you can donate medical equipment near you
Donating bath chairs in your neighborhood
Organizations near you which may know where to donate a bath chair
Donating a bath chair and other used medical equipment to Assistive Technology Programs
Assistive Technology Programs (AT Programs) are designed to increase public access, in particular for low income individuals, people with disabilities, and the elderly, to assistive technology devices.
Assistive technology devices include most forms of durable medical equipment, and are always looking for donations of equipment which is in good condition.
Any resident in the state may apply for equipment demonstrations, and equipment loans from their state AT program.
If you would like to donate your bath chair to your State AT Program, simply click on your state in the list below. Doing so will bring you to your state website with all the appropriate information on how to proceed with your donation.
Click on your state to go to your AT program website
Donating a bath chair to Refurbishment and Reuse Centers
Refurbishment and reuse centers are as exactly what their name implies. The refurbishment centers will take your bath chair donation and, if necessary, will do any maintenance that they feel is required, as well as sanitizing it. A reuse center will most likely just take your equipment and, if it is in good condition, will offer it to someone else.
Should you donate your bath chair to a medical equipment refurbishment or reuse center, both will redistribute it, more likely than not, to individuals who cannot afford one otherwise, whether it be permanently, or for a short or long term loan.
Refurbishment and reuse centers which are run by non-profit organizations will usually try to keep the costs as low as possible, so that the items can be offered to people without insurance or who have a very low income.
Donating a bath chair to a Center for Independent Living
Centers for Independent Living very often manage equipment loan closets for their disabled members, and will gratefully receive any donation of durable medical equipment.
“A Center for Independent Living are – Designed and operated by individuals with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs) provide independent living services for people with disabilities. CILs are at the core of ACL’s independent living programs, which work to support community living and independence for people with disabilities across the nation based on the belief that all people can live with dignity, make their own choices, and participate fully in society. These programs provide tools, resources, and supports for integrating people with disabilities fully into their communities to promote equal opportunities, self-determination, and respect.”
Source : https://acl.gov/programs/aging-and-disability-networks/centers-independent-living
To find your nearest Center for Independent Living, check this website.
Donating a bath chair to Medical Equipment Loan Closets
What are medical equipment loan closets ? They are quite simply organizations which have a stock of durable medical equipment which they lend out into the local, or the wider community – they may service a neighborhood, a town, a county, or even a large section of a state.
You can again make a difference in someone’s life by donating a new or gently used bath chair to a medical equipment loan closet, as your bath chair will typically be available for borrowing free of charge.
To find medical equipment loan closet near you, I would start by doing a few specific searches and inquiries –
- first I like to do a search, on the internet, for “medical equipment loan closet + your location”, “medical equipment lending closet + your location”, “medical equipment lending bank + your location”, or “medical equipment bank + your location” – I would try each search in the order I have written them here
- if the search didn’t find anything, try talking to your county Area Agency on Aging – to locate your agency, just go to the link here
- you can also check with your local council, human resources or seniors department, to see if they are involved in any community loan closets, or if they are aware of any
- see if your local reuse or medical equipment refurbishing centers run any loan closets – you can find them on the internet
- Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs and American Legion Posts – I have found many community medical equipment loan closets run by these three charitable groups, so see if you have one near you
To locate a Lions Club in your area, check out my article here – How To Find A Lions Club Near Me ? A Very Quick Illustrated Guide
To locate a Rotary Club in your area, check out my article here – How To Find A Rotary Club Near Me ? A Very Quick Illustrated Guide
Bikur Cholim or Medical Equipment Gemacht – these Jewish community medical equipment loan closets which are available to, and run by, members of the Jewish community.
You can find a loan closet to donate to here on the Chesed Match website.
Great Lakes Loan Closets
In Michigan, Wisconsin, Northern Indiana or Northern Illinois there is a comprehensive network of medical equipment loan closets, comprising several hundred loan closets run by faith based groups, churches, senior centers, and local councils. And one website has kindly gone to the trouble of listing them all.
“Loan closets typically have durable medical equipment (DME) such as wheelchairs, shower chairs, bedside commodes, walkers, crutches, canes, and high-rise toilet seats. Some may also have hospital beds or electric wheelchairs available. Each loan closet is unique, with its own set of eligibility requirements, equipment, and loan period.” – Source – the Great Lakes Loan Closets website.
If you live in the areas cited above, you will be able to find a loan closet near you, on the home page of the website here – https://loanclosets.org/
National and International organizations which accept durable medical equipment donations
Goodwill
To donate your bath chair, locate a store near you and give them a call. Here’s the store locator – https://www.goodwill.org/locator/
Salvation Army
To donate your bath chair, click on the following link website – https://satruck.org/
EasterSeals
To locate your local affiliate and make your bath chair donation, use this link – https://www.easterseals.com/connect-locally/
The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations
The page on their website for donating your bath chair is here – http://www.pqmd.org/pillars/donation-guidelines/
Project Cure
The page on the website for donating your bath chair can be found here – https://projectcure.org/donate-supplies-equipment
REMEDY – Recovered Medical Equipment for the developing World
To donate your bath chair to REMEDY, follow this link – https://www.med-eq.org/Login/form.aspx?type=donate&quick=1
Advocates for World Health
The page on the website for donating any durable medical equipment is here – https://awhealth.org/donate-medical-equipment/
Esperenca
To donate your bath chair, follow this link – https://www.esperanca.org/donate-supplies/
MedShare
Follow this link to the MedShare website to donate your bath chair – https://www.medshare.org/
HERO Healthcare Equipment Recycling Organization
You can find out about donating your bath chair on their website go here – https://www.herofargo.org/wp-content/uploads/IndividualSupplies.pdf
MedWish
The page on the website for donating your bath chair is here – https://www.medwish.org/give
Global Links
To donate your bath chair, check out this website page – https://www.globallinks.org/our-work/programs/medical-surplus-recovery-program/individual-and-community-surplus-recovery
Global Mobility USA
You can contact them at this web address – http://www.globalmobilityusa.org/equipment-and-in-kind-donations
Medical Bridges
To find out about donating, follow this link to their website – http://www.medicalbridges.org/donate/medical-supplies-and-equipment
Online listing sites where you can donate a bath chair to those near you
One reason that I like to use online listings and social media platforms, is that this method allows me to donate to someone person to person in my neighborhood.
But beware, you do need to take a few precautions when going this route –
1) If you are caring for an elderly person at home, it’s essential that you prioritize their safety, privacy and well-being. I would avoid having individuals visit your home directly for an item pick-up.
2) I would arrange the pick-up in a public place – a car park or a mall café.
3) If you donate using an online classified listing, such as Craigslist (not a problem on Facebook, Nextdoor, Freecycle or OfferUp), I would recommend using a throwaway email address, so that your private email doesn’t get inundated with spam.
4) In your posting, you need to state that you are donating your item “as is”, and that you accept no liability if the new user has any sort of accident or problem with the equipment.
To see how to donate an item on Craigslist, UsedHME.com, Facebook, Freecycle, Nextdoor, you consult my short illustrated guides on donating new, or used, medical, equipment on each of those platforms –
Craigslist.com – “How To Donate Used Medical Equipment Near Me On Craigslist ? An Illustrated Guide”
UsedHME.com – “How To Donate Used Medical Equipment Near Me On UsedHME ? An illustrated Guide”
Facebook.com – “How To Donate Used Medical Equipment Near Me On Facebook ? An Illustrated Guide”
Freecycle.org – “How To Donate Used Medical Equipment Near Me on Freecycle.org ? A Very Quick Illustrated Guide”
Nextdoor.com – “How To Get Free Medical Equipment Near Me On Nextdoor.com ? A Quick Illustrated Guide”
OfferUp.com – I haven’t written an article on this, as there is already a very good video showing how to use OfferUp, see below.
Donating a bath chair in your neighborhood
If donating online isn’t your thing, and you like to do things in person, you could go to some of the following places in your neighborhood to see if they need a bath chair –
- Local Hospitals
- Emergency rooms
- Thrift stores
- Senior Centers or Elderly Day Care Centers
- Veterans Centers
- Local Retirement Homes
- Churches
- Ask if your local council Seniors’ department know where there is a medical equipment loan closet in your community
Organizations near you who may know where you can donate a bath chair
Here are some administrations and organizations which may be able to give you suggestions on where to go to donate your bath chair –
Area Agencies On Aging
An Area Agency on Aging is a non-profit agency that has been appointed by the state to focus on helping the elderly gain access to the services that are available to them in their community.
I would always start by asking here.
You’ll be able to find the Area Agency on Aging for your county by using the agency locator tool – click here.
Social Services
Your local Social Services department may know who you can contact to donate equipment.
Faith-based Charities
A number of larger faith-based charities with local chapters run charitable programs across most of the US.
Two specific charities with chapters all over the US are –
The Catholic Charities
Society of St Vincent de Paul
Both run a range of programs for people in need, including the homeless, refugees and victims of different kinds of abuse.
You can just look them up online by entering the charity and the town or area you live in, and then ask them if they know of opportunities that you have to donate your bath chair.
Local Town Hall or Chamber of Commerce
In a Town Hall, or Chamber of Commerce, there is a record of the local non-profit organizations, charities and community groups dealing with used medical equipment in your administrative area.
Reasons why your bath chair may not be accepted
Not everyone is going to accept your offer of a donation.
Here are a few of the main reasons why –
- they may consider your bath chair to be too old
- it may need disinfecting and washing to avoid the spread of infection, especially as it is a bath chair, and many organizations are just not equipped to do this
- used equipment no longer under warranty
- state laws governing the reuse of medical equipment may not allow certain items to be reused
Tax deductions on donations
Hang on to the receipt from your donation that you make to any charities so that you can get a tax deduction – the IRS will require the receipt for the item.
I’m Gareth, the author and owner of Looking After Mom and Dad.com
I have been a caregiver for over 10 yrs and share all my tips here.
