™ECHO is grateful that groups and individuals often wish to collect items for ECHO to distribute to people in need. ECHO Donation Drives can be individual Eagle Scout or Scout troop projects. They can be the efforts of a business, school, faith congregation or community association.
Below are the guidelines for each type of donation drive.
If you want to hold a drive, please read through the procedures to determine what kind of project is right for your group, then e-mail Admin@echo-inc.org to coordinate the details.
Food or Personal Care Items
1.Determine the location and scope of your drive- whether it will be held within your school, faith community, neighborhood, or at a supermarket.
2.Discuss your plans with the head of your organization (school sponsor, principal, clergy). Select the date(s) and location. If it is to be held at a supermarket, the store should be in ECHO’s service area. Contact the store manager for open dates. Contact ECHO’s Food Room Co-chairs by e-mailing us at admin@echo-inc.org for the current list of most needed items.
3.Advertise your Food Drive through newsletters, emails, Facebook and other social media, verbal and written announcements, and flyers. Provide a list of the items to be collected.
4.If the drive is being held at school or faith community, provide boxes that are clearly marked “FOR ECHO.” If it is being held at a supermarket, have cars and trucks available to hold the items collected. Provide the store manager with a list of items you wish to receive. Often, he or she will order extra of those items for the day of your drive (ECHO will use any item received). Also, have a container appropriate for monetary donations or gift cards that you might receive.
5.Coordinate by e-mail with the Food Co-Chairs regarding the date and time you want to deliver the donations. Our normal hours are Monday through Friday mornings and Tuesday through Thursday evenings (7-8:30 p.m.). Arrangements can be made for after hour or weekend delivery but MUST be coordinated in advance.
6.Thank key volunteers and others who helped you with the drive. Email photos of your drive to admin@echo-inc.org and indicate if we may use to them on our website or Facebook page. Let us know the name and address of your organization so ECHO can thank those key leaders.
Housewares and Bed Linens
It is possible to conduct a drive that costs the donors no money! ECHO is delighted to receive and distribute pots, pans, sheets, comforters, blankets, towels, shower curtains, flatware, drinking glasses, dishes, small electrical appliances such as microwave ovens, toasters, blenders, rice cookers, sewing machines, irons, and radios as long as they are clean and in good working order.
1.Contact ECHO by e-mail at admin@echo-inc.org to notify us that you would like to conduct a housewares donation drive for ECHO.
2.Make sure you plan to deliver the donations during ECHO’s hours of operation, and include enough time to unload the donations before our building closes. We open at 9:30 am Monday through Friday, and close the building at 12:30 pm on those days. We are open from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
3.Choose a date for your collection and advertise your drive within the organization or community where you will hold it. You can distribute flyers with the details, letting donors know what types of products you will be collecting. You may limit your collection to one category of housewares (blankets, for instance) or collect any and all from the list above.
4.These products may be new or used, but all items must be clean and in working order. Bed linens and towels should not have tears or stains. We do not ask that dishes, flatware or towels come in matched sets- we can assemble mixed sets for client families.
5.If you include small appliances in your drive, part of your effort should be testing them to make sure each one is working properly and does not pose a safety threat to the needy person who receives it.
6.On the day of your drive, make sure you have sufficient storage and transportation for the donations you receive. If you have collected breakable items such as drinking glasses, make sure they are packed so as not to break during transport.
7.Take photos of your drive and share them with ECHO by e-mail to admin@echo-inc.org. With your permission, we might post the photos to our website or Facebook page.
School Supplies
The comprehensive list of school supplies we distribute is below. In late spring and early summer, we start collecting everything on the list in order to prepare the distribution to needy families in late summer and early fall.
Donations of school supplies are accepted throughout the year. Between October and April, click on our School Supplies tab to find out items that are most needed in winter.
| NEW Backpacks– for all grade levels K–12 3-ring binders – 1”, 1½” and 2” Loose-leaf paper – wide and college ruled Tabbed subject dividers (5-subject) Laminated or vinyl pocket folders – with & without prongs Paper pocket folders – with & without prongs Composition notebooks – wide-ruled Spiral notebooks – wide & college ruled Primary writing & drawing tablets/paper Construction paper (9” x 12”) Sturdy fabric pencil pouches Plastic school boxes & pencil boxe s Student scissors (blunt & pointed tips) #2 pencils Mechanical pencils Ballpoint pens (red, black & blue) Crayons (box of 24) |
Markers – broad & fine tips Colored pencils (box or 12) Highlighters Dry erase markers School glue (4 oz. bottle) Glue sticks Pink Pearl erasers Pencil top erasers Rulers (12-inch/30 cm) 3”X 5” Index cards 3”X 3” Post-it notes Graph paper – ¼” grid only Compasses – safety type only Protractors Calculators – new or gently used Dictionaries & Thesauruses – paperback & current Gently used/new books for pleasure reading for all grade levels K – 12 |
1.Contact ECHO by e-mail at admin@echo-inc.org to notify us that you would like to conduct a school supplies donation drive for ECHO.
2.Make sure you plan to deliver the donations during ECHO’s hours of operation, and include enough time to unload the donations before our building closes. We open at 9:30 am Monday through Friday, and close the building at 12:30 pm on those days. We are open from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
3.Choose a date for your collection and advertise your drive within the organization or community where you will hold it. You can distribute flyers with the details and announce the drive on social media.
4.On the day of your drive, make sure you have sufficient storage and transportation for the donations you receive.
5.Take photos of your drive and share them with ECHO by e-mail to admin@echo-inc.org. With your permission, we might post the photos to our website or Facebook page.
Clothing
If you would like to hold a clothing drive for ECHO, our most constant needs are for men’s and boys’ jeans, children’s coats and men’s and women’s size small and medium winter coats, teen clothing, as well as new socks and underwear. ECHO does not distribute used socks or underwear, so please collect only new items in that category.
1.Contact ECHO by e-mail at admin@echo-inc.org to notify us that you would like to conduct a clothing donation drive for ECHO.
2.Make sure you plan to deliver the donations during ECHO’s hours of operation, and include enough time to unload the donations before our building closes. We open at 9:30 am Monday through Friday, and close the building at 12:30 pm on those days. We are open from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
3.Choose a date for your collection and advertise your drive within the organization or community where you will hold it. You can distribute flyers with the details, letting donors know what types of products you will be collecting. You may limit your collection to one category of clothing (new socks and underwear) or collect any and all from the list above.
4.Except for underwear, the jeans, coats, clothing, and gloves should be new or like new. All items must be clean and in near-new condition, having all buttons and fasteners intact, zippers that work, and with no tears or stains.
5.ECHO requests that a part of your drive’s effort be to examine the used clothing to make sure of cleanliness and quality before you deliver them to ECHO.
6.On the day of your drive, make sure you have sufficient storage and transportation for the donations you receive.
7.Take photos of your drive and share them with ECHO by e-mail to admin@echo-inc.org. With your permission, we might post the photos to our website or Facebook page.