You can also support us by making a tax-deductible financial donation today!
How does it work?
Learn below what you need to do to donate medical equipment and supplies to ReCARES.
Donations of equipment are only accepted during open hours. We ask you to please not leave items at any other time at our doors, as this jeopardizes our site leases.
1 – Before coming to ReCARES
Read our list of not accepted items here.
Select the healthcare equipment and supplies you want to donate.
Make sure they have all their parts, are clean, and in good condition.
Tip:
Ask yourself: is this item ready to go to another person’s home? If the answer is yes, then proceed.
2 – Coming to ReCARES
Pick the ReCARES location that is more convenient for you.
You can find the address, open hours, and latest updates of our 3 locations on our main page.
Arrive during open hours and line up.
3 – At ReCARES
When is your turn at the line, a volunteer will work with you.
The volunteer will inspect your donation to make sure we can receive the items you are bringing.
If there are items we cannot take, you can find here other places that might receive them.
If you need it, the volunteer will work with you to fill out a tax-deductible donation receipt.
Have more questions?
Learn more about our policies for receiving donated items:
What items do you accept?
All items must be in excellent condition and clean with no damage, dirt, corrosion, stains, or rust. If you would take the item home to your mother then likely we will be able to reassign it back out. Please check the undersides of the equipment and clean them if necessary.
If any of your items are past their usefulness, please consider placing them in your recycle or debris bin as our bins are limited.
We usually accept donations of:
- Incontinence supplies (Pull up briefs, Tape On briefs, Chux, Insert pads)
- Unopened personal hygiene items
- Mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, rollator walkers, upright walkers, Parkinson’s rollators, standard walkers, canes, knee scooters, and crutches.
- Bathroom aids, such as shower seats, tub transfer benches, toilet risers, toilet arms, shower handrails.
- Bedroom aids, such as side rails, bedside tables, foot cradles, positioning cushions,
- Breathing aids:
- Portable Oxygen concentrators
- Other adaptative equipment, such as floor-to-ceiling poles, sit-stand assists, bed/chair alarms, monitoring alarms, trays, seat cushions, walker baskets, etc.
- Ice machines
- Ensure (unexpired)
Items we don’t accept:
- Walking boots
- Knee/back/arm/leg braces
- Pharmaceuticals & IV fluids and supplies
- Feeding supplements
- Tube feeding supplies
- Needles, syringes
- Ostomy supplies
- Drainage supplies
- Urinary supplies
- Respiratory supplies including oxygen tanks, opened tubing, CPAP machines and CPAP supplies. To donate this kind of items please try contacting Breathe California.
Please, help us help and respect these restrictions. You can learn of other organizations that might take these items by visiting our “Resources” page.
Why don’t you accept certain items?
There are many reasons we can’t accept them right now, such as storage space, overstock, little demand or no takers, and safety or hygiene-related concerns.
Sometimes, our volunteers might still reject “commonly accepted” items when you bring them to the site. We understand that this might be frustrating, but we ask you to understand that these decisions are made in order to not jeopardize our regular operations.
Do you accept electric wheelchairs and/or scooters?
No, we do not have the capacity for these items. If you would like to donate a working electric wheelchair or scooter, we suggest you contact the Center for Independent Living or NorCal SCI. These organizations might be able to help you.
Do you accept indoor stairlifts?
No, we do not accept them at this time.
Do you accept large equipment, such as hospital beds and Hoyer lifts?
We do not have the storage space to accept these large items. However, we can try to match you with someone in need of a hospital bed or Hoyer lift. If you would like us to help, please fill out this form* and we will contact you soon.
*Please notice this form requires you to sign in using a Gmail account.
Will you pick up donations?
Sadly we have no vehicles to offer this service.
Are you open every week?
We only close on major holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. To learn more about our site closures, please see the information about each location on our main page, or read our latest news.
Can you take broken items?
It depends on the availability and skills of volunteers at each site. We do not have a budget to make repairs or buy parts. As a general rule we accept ONLY clean, usable items.
Will I receive a donation receipt for tax purposes?
Yes. We are an IRS recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and can give you a written receipt. We cannot document the value of your donation per IRS regulations.
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