If you have a weighted blanket in relatively good shape and you no longer have a use for it, you can donate to one of the numerous organizations and establishments that serve people in need, or directly person to person online. So let’s go ahead and see how you can make a gift of your weighted blanket.
The opportunities for donating your “gently used” weighted blanket 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, local churches, private individuals on classified listing websites and social media platforms with marketplaces, senior centers and veterans centers.
Contents Overview & Quicklinks
Donating weighted blankets and other used medical equipment to State Assistive Technology Programs
Donating weighted blankets to refurbishing and reuse Centers
Donating weighted blankets to Centers for Independent Living
Donating weighted blankets to Loan Closets
National and international organizations which accept durable medical equipment donations
Online listing sites where you can donate medical equipment near you
Donating weighted blankets in your neighborhood
Organizations near you which may know where to donate a weighted blanket
Donating a weighted blanket and other used medical equipment to Assistive Technology Programs
With the aid of federal grants, Assistive Technology Programs (AT Programs) are established to improve accessibility, in particular, for individuals with low income, disabilities, and the elderly, to assistive devices, which include most forms of durable medical equipment.
Individuals can apply for equipment demonstrations, and equipment loans from their state AT program.
To donate your weighted blanket to your AT Program, click on your state in the list below, and you will bring up their website with all the appropriate information on how to proceed.
Click on your state to go to your AT program website
Donating a weighted blanket to refurbishment and reuse centers
If you decide to donate your weighted blanket to a medical equipment refurbishment or reuse center, it’s worth knowing that both typically have programs for redistributing donated items to individuals who cannot afford them otherwise, whether it be permanently, or for a short or long term loan.
Refurbishment and reuse centers, run by non-profit organizations, usually try to keep the costs as low as possible, so that the items can be offered.
Donating a weighted blanket to Centers for Independent Living
Centers for Independent Living frequently run loan closets to support their members, making them an ideal destination for 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 locate a center, check this website.
Donating a weighted blanket to Medical Equipment Loan Closets
You can also make a difference by donating new or gently used weighted blankets to medical equipment loan closets.
Medical equipment loan closets exist to lend durable medical equipment to community members. Your donation will be made available for borrowing, and generally free of charge.
A loan closet may service a neighborhood, a whole city, county, or even a large section of a state.
To locate a medical equipment loan closet near you, start by looking in the following places –
- I find the easiest way to start is 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 try all of these in the order I have written them here
- Your county Area Agency on Aging – to locate your county’s agency you need to go to the link here
- make inquiries with local council, human resources or seniors department, to find out if they manage a loan closet for the community, or if they are aware of any
- get in touch with reuse or medical equipment refurbishing centers in your area – you can find them on the internet
- Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs and American Legion Posts may sometimes run community medical equipment loan closets, 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 – Jewish medical equipment loan closets which are available to, and run by, members of the Jewish community.
To find one for your donation, make inquiries at your local synagogue, or take a look here on the Chesed Match website.
Great Lakes Loan Closets
If you live in Michigan, Wisconsin, Northern Indiana or Northern Illinois you can donate to the most comprehensive network of medical equipment loan closets. It comprises 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.
You can find a loan closet near you in the service areas listed, 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 weighted blanket, 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 weighted blanket, click on the following link website – https://satruck.org/
EasterSeals
To locate your local affiliate and make your donation, use this link – https://www.easterseals.com/connect-locally/
The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations
The page on the website for donating your weighted blanket is here – http://www.pqmd.org/pillars/donation-guidelines/
Project Cure
The page on the website for donating your weighted blanket is here – https://projectcure.org/donate-supplies-equipment
REMEDY – Recovered Medical Equipment for the developing World
To donate your weighted blanket to REMEDY, go to this web page – https://www.med-eq.org/Login/form.aspx?type=donate&quick=1
Advocates for World Health
The page on the website for donating durable medical equipment is here – https://awhealth.org/donate-medical-equipment/
Esperenca
To donate your weighted blanket, go here – https://www.esperanca.org/donate-supplies/
MedShare
Go to the MedShare website to donate your weighted blanket here – https://www.medshare.org/
HERO Healthcare Equipment Recycling Organization
You can find out more about donating on their website here – https://www.herofargo.org/wp-content/uploads/IndividualSupplies.pdf
MedWish
The page on the website for donating your weighted blanket is here – https://www.medwish.org/give
Global Links
To donate your weighted blanket, 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
This is the donation page on their website – http://www.medicalbridges.org/donate/medical-supplies-and-equipment
Online listing sites where you can donate a weighted blanket near you
I like to use online listings and social media platforms, as it allows me to donate to someone person to person in my neighborhood. But I will also offer a few words to the wise.
1) When caring for an elderly person at home, it’s essential to prioritize their safety and well-being. To ensure their privacy, I would avoid having individuals come directly to the home for an item pick-up. I would arrange a meeting in a public place – a car park or a mall café.
2) On classified listings (not a problem on Facebook, Nextdoor, Freecycle or OfferUp), you should use a throwaway email address, so you don’t get inundated with spam emails – don’t use your regular private email for this.
3) In the description of your item that you will be writing for your posting, remember to state that it is offered “as is”, and that you accept no liability should the recipient have any problems or accidents with the item they are receiving.
If you have never donated an item on Craigslist, UsedHME.com, Facebook, Freecycle, Nextdoor, you can take a look at 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 weighted blanket in your neighborhood
If you aren’t interested in donating online, you can go to some of the following places in your neighborhood to see if they need a weighted blanket –
- Local Hospitals
- Emergency rooms
- Thrift stores
- Senior Centers or Elderly Day Care Centers very often run loan closets
- Veterans Centers
- Local Retirement Homes
- Churches
- Call your local council Seniors’ department and ask if they know where there is a medical equipment loan closet in your community
Organizations near you who may know where you can donate a weighted blanket
For informed advice on where to donate any durable equipment, here are some administrations and organizations where you will find people who may be able to give you suggestions –
Area Agencies On Aging
Your Area Agency on Aging is a non-profit agency which is appointed by the state to focus on helping the elderly get access to the services that are available to them in their community.
So definitely start by asking here.
You’ll find the Area Agency on Aging for your county by using the agency locator tool – click here.
Social Services
Your Social Services department responsible for your local area may know who you can contact to donate equipment.
Faith-based Charities
There are a number of faith-based charities which run charitable programs across most of the US, and have local chapters throughout the country.
Two of the established faith-based charities with chapters all over the US are –
The Catholic Charities
Society of St Vincent de Paul
The charities run a range of programs helping people in need, such as the homeless, refugees and victims of different kinds of abuse. You can contact them and ask if they know where you can donate your weighted blanket.
You can just look them up online by entering the charity and the town or area you live in.
Local Town Hall or Chamber of Commerce
The local Town Hall, or Chamber of Commerce, will have a record of the non-profit organizations, charities and community groups in your administrative area, dealing with used medical equipment.
Reasons why your weighted blanket may not be accepted
Not all organizations will accept your donation, here are a few of the main reasons why –
- they may consider your blanket to be too old
- it may need disinfecting and washing to avoid the spread of infection, and some organizations may not be equipped to handle that job
- many companies don’t want to get involved in handling equipment no longer under warranty
- state laws governing the reuse of medical equipment
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.
