Here are 7 places where you can donate clothes in Philly

Many donation centers in Philadelphia are slowly reopening after months of non-essential businesses being closed as a safety measure against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

If you cleaned out your closet during that time, several local organizations are now asking for clothing donations that they can distribute to Philadelphians in need. 

If you know of an organization in need that is not on this list, message us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or send an email to editors@kensingtonvoice.com.

Broad Street Ministry

315 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107

215-735-4847

Broad Street Ministry (BSM) is a faith-based organization that serves people experiencing deep poverty. The organization provides behavioral health services, legal counseling, mail distribution, meals, mail distribution, legal counseling, and more. 

BSM operates a clothing closet called 315 Threadz that is seeking donations of new or gently-used items: adult sneakers, backpacks, jeans, pants, shorts, and sweatpants. Men’s jeans, pants, and shorts from sizes 30 to 36 and larger than size 48 are in high demand, wrote Nathalie Cerin, clothing closet coordinator at the Broad Street Ministry, in an email to Kensington Voice. 

BSM is not currently accepting donations of winter coats or dress clothes, such as button-down shirts, children’s clothing, dresses, high heels, or skirts.

You can either mail or personally deliver your donations to Broad Street Ministry’s office (address listed above) from Monday through Friday between noon to 2 p.m. If you’re unable to donate your own clothing but still want to support Broad Street Ministry, you can visit their Amazon wish list to view a complete list of items to send to them directly.

Career Wardrobe

1822 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19130

215-568-6693

Career Wardrobe is a clothing donation service that gives people who are unemployed professional clothing for free. The nonprofit aims to empower job seekers by helping them look the part, according to their mission statement. In light of COVID-19, Career Wardrobe is open for no-contact donations on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. 

People can place their donations in the nonprofit’s bins next to the building’s side door on 19th Street. The nonprofit requires clothing donations to be freshly cleaned and packaged in a bag or box, and accessories must be sanitized with cleaning wipes or diluted rubbing alcohol.

Keep in mind that each person is limited to five boxes or less per donation. If interested in making a larger donation, you can email info@careerwardrobe.org for pre-approval and to schedule a drop-off appointment. 

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Career Wardrobe’s Wardrobe Resale store was open to the public to shop for reduced-price clothing. Wardrobe Resale will reopen on July 7 with new store hours from Tuesday to Saturday between noon to 6 p.m. The store will be limited to 10 shoppers at a time, and customers must remain six feet apart while wearing a mask. 

Circle Thrift

2233 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia Pa. 19125

215-423-1222  

1125 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19147

215-468-0645

Circle Thrift is a thrift store with multiple locations in Philadelphia — operated by the Circle of Hope and MCC Thrift Shop Network — that sells items for reduced prices. In addition to clothing, the store sells furniture, toys, and other household items.

Circle Thrift’s mission is to employ, build relationships with, and provide inexpensive clothing to members of the Fishtown, Kensington, and South Philadelphia communities. 

Both locations are physically closed, but you can schedule a donation drop-off by emailing circlethriftdonations@gmail.com. People interested in buying items can check out the store’s Instagram to see what’s available and when there’ll be a pop-up sidewalk sale. 

Green Drop

163 Franklin Mills Blvd., Philadelphia, Pa. 19154

888-944-3767

Green Drop is a charitable donation service that collects and sells gently-used clothing and household items to local thrift stores. You can bring your donations to Green Drop’s Franklin Mills location or schedule an at-home pickup. The drop-off location on Frankford Avenue in Fishtown is closed.

Proceeds from the thrift store sales are donated to one of Green Drop’s participating charities. When donating, you can choose to donate those proceeds to either the American Red Cross, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, National Federation of the Blind, or the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. 

Project HOME

Main office: 1515 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 

Sacred Heart Recovery Residence: 1315 W. Hunting Park Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19140

215-232-7272

Project HOME is a nonprofit organization that serves people experiencing homelessness and people experiencing poverty by connecting them to services, such as affordable housing, education, employment, and health care. 

The organization is currently only accepting brand new clothing donations, including boots, jeans, shoes, sweatpants, T-shirts, and underwear. Project HOME’s full list of priority items is available here. 

You can drop off donations at Project HOME’s main office and Sacred Heart Recovery Residence, Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

If you are looking to donate gently-used clothing, check out some of Project HOME’s other services below:

• HOME Spun Resale Boutique
  • 1523 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19130
  • 215-232-6322
  • The boutique is operated by Project HOME and staffed by Project HOME’s residents. The store sells gently-used clothing at affordable prices and those profits are used to pay staff members. 
  • The boutique closed earlier this March due to the pandemic but it has reopened for donations and order pickups on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• The Hub of Hope
  • 1401 Arch St., Lower Lever Suburban Station Concourse, Philadelphia, Pa., 19102.
  • 215-309-5225
  • The Hub of Hope is a daytime respite located in Suburban Station under Two Penn Center. It provides year-round services to people experiencing homelessness, such as housing placements, medical care, personal hygiene care, and recovery groups. The Hub of Hope accepts brand new and gently-used clothing donations but brand new clothing is preferred. 

Retrievr

Retrievr is a pickup service that diverts waste from landfills by recycling or re-selling unwanted clothing and electronics. The City of Philadelphia recently partnered with Retrievr through the city’s SmartCityPHL Roadmap Program, which began on June 8.

Retrievr picks up clothing and smaller-sized electronics for free. The company does charge a fee for larger-sized electronics. You can schedule a pickup by: 

• Visiting retrievr.com  
• Texting PICKUP to 757-70-FETCH (757-703-3824) 
• Calling 757-70-FETCH (757-703-3824)

Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission

302 N. 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19107

215-922-6400

Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission serves people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. Among other services, the rescue mission provides people with three meals a day all year round and operates a 30-day emergency shelter for men.

Sunday Breakfast is currently accepting clothing donations for men. You can drop off donations at Sunday Breakfast’s parking lot in the white bins that are provided everyday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Their donation request includes brand new boxers or men’s undershirts and gently-used items, such as casual pants, casual shoes, jeans, shorts, and short-sleeved casual shirts. 

A full list of items the shelter needs can be found here.

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