In-Kind Needs
SEARCH staff members’ deliberate conversations with clients highlight several specific, urgent needs. We are so grateful to you, our amazing support network, for helping us get these essential items into clients’ hands. Thank you!
Outreach Amazon wish list: SEARCH’s Outreach Team supports clients’ access to food, water, and seasonal necessities while also engaging in targeted rapport building and longer-term service connection efforts.
Housing Amazon wish list: Clients in SEARCH’s supportive housing programs consistently report an urgent need for toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies (all-purpose cleaner, dish soap, laundry detergent, bleach, and disinfectant wipes).
You can also check out our Amazon wish list for SEARCH’s House of Tiny Treasures.
Drop Off Instructions. If you are able to provide any of these items and would prefer to drop off at SEARCH directly, please reach out to Program Coordinator Krys Jones at kjones@searchhomeless.org to make arrangements for a drop off time. Appointments are typically available between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday-Friday. Thank you so much for helping us serve our clients and community safely.
Wish List
- Hurricane preparedness supplies – SEARCH is especially in need of storm radios, rain ponchos, and flashlights with batteries as we prepare folks on the street and in Housing for summer hurricane season and erratic winter weather.
- Cleaning supplies – Case managers in our Scattered Site Housing and Rapid Rehousing programs are finding that their newly housed clients most often fail apartment inspections and risk eviction due to dirty ovens and would love it if they could provide clients with oven cleaner such as Easy-Off. They’d also welcome other cleaning supplies like all-purpose cleaner, liquid and pods detergent, sponges, dish soap, bleach, and disinfecting wipes. These gifts support SEARCH clients’ housing stability and acquisition of new life skills as they transition to life off the streets.
- Bottled water
- Full-sized (preferred over travel-sized) hygiene/toiletry products
Other In-Kind Needs
Based on our current storage capacity and client need, SEARCH can sometimes accept other in-kind donations such as clothing, shoes, blankets/bedding, non-perishable food, small household appliances, and decorative housewarming items.
Please contact Program Coordinator Krys Jones at kjones@searchhomeless.org to discuss donations and arrange drop-off before bringing any items to SEARCH.
At this time, we are not able to accept donations of clothing and shoes as we are at capacity.
We truly appreciate our community’s generosity that has allowed us to keep many items in ample supply!
SEARCH is NOT able to accept the items listed below at this time:
- Clothing and shoes
- Sandwiches/sack lunches. Our Outreach Team has transitioned to providing our clients with more non-perishable items.
- Dental care supplies (toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss)
- Furniture
- Toys (outside of holiday- and birthday-specific projects)
- To-go containers/silverware
Volunteering with SEARCH
Due to current staffing capacity limitations, SEARCH is unable to host volunteers onsite at this time. Please feel free to check back in the future and to review the remote volunteer opportunities below! You can reach our Volunteer Coordinator Desmond Davis at ddavis@searchhomeless.org to coordinate delivery of any packs or kits that you prepare. Thank you so much for your understanding and support.
Remote Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer role: Volunteers are matched with a SEARCH client and assemble a backpack containing school supplies appropriate to the student’s grade level. SEARCH serves students from pre-K to college! Backpack purchase and assembly generally costs $75-$100 per student.
Number of volunteers: 50 or more
Time: SEARCH recruits sponsors in June and July. Backpack drop-off occurs from late July to mid-August. Drop-off is open Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave.
Volunteer role: Volunteers are matched with a SEARCH client and his or her holiday wish list of three items. As our neighbors often struggle to meet their daily needs, volunteers who purchase wish list items play a crucial part in making holiday cheer available to all! We have found that groups often enjoy shopping for wish list items together and coming together for “wrapping parties!”
Number of volunteers: 50 or more
Time: SEARCH recruits sponsors in October. Wish list item drop-off occurs throughout November and in early December. Drop-off is open Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave. or SEARCH’s House of Tiny Treasures located at 2323 Francis St. SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator will specify a location!
SEARCH’s Mobile Outreach team members distribute snack packs as they meet individuals who are experiencing homelessness. Our case managers also distribute them. Easy-open protein items provide a great food source for our clients. Volunteers consult the list below and choose three or more of the items to package in quart or sandwich-sized Ziploc bags. Clients often find it most helpful when snack packs contain a mix of no-chew (e.g. applesauce, pudding) and chewy items to accommodate all levels of dental health. You are welcome to include an encouraging note! We ask that notes not include dates, contact information, last names, or religious information such as references to deities.
Snack pack composition:
- One no-chew item: applesauce, pudding, nut butter pouch or cup
- One meat-based protein source: jerky, fish in a pouch, Bumble Bee snacks on the run, Vienna sausages with pop-top lid
- One granola or protein bar (crunchier and non-chocolate preferred)
- One other snack: peanut butter or cheese crackers, nuts or seeds, dried fruit, trail mix
SEARCH’s Outreach Team would sincerely appreciate it if supporters like you could prepare sandwich- or quart-sized Ziploc-style bags including the following items to help address summer health, hygiene, and weather concerns.
- One or two laundry detergent pods in snack-sized plastic bags (in case of leaks)
- Travel- or full-sized deodorant
- Pair of socks
- Rain poncho
- Pack of insect repellant (example here)
- Pack of sunscreen (example here)
- Travel pack of tissues
- 8-oz water bottle
- Optional encouraging note: Any paper like construction, notebook, index card, etc. works great for this, and writing the notes is often a nice way to involve children in the project. We ask that your words of affirmation avoid religious references and sharing personal details such as your last name or contact information. Thank you!
During the winter months, SEARCH’s Outreach Team is in need of cold weather kits containing the following items packaged in an affordable drawstring bag.
- “Emergency blanket”
- Socks (fun pairs welcome!)
- Winter hat
- Gloves
- Hand warmers
- Long john pants (size L if available)
- Basic wind breaker (size L if available)
- Optional encouraging note: Any paper like construction, notebook, index card, etc. works great for this, and writing the notes is often a nice way to involve children in the project. We ask that your words of affirmation avoid religious references and sharing personal details such as your last name or contact information. Thank you!
Volunteer role: SEARCH clients consistently report certain needs that volunteers can help us meet by organizing in-kind donation drives at their schools, workplaces, extracurricular groups, places of worship, etc. Client needs vary depending on the kinds of services they are receiving from SEARCH. Volunteers are invited to collect any and all of the following items. We also invite volunteers to reach out to us if they’d consider representing us as a “Next Door Neighbor,” receiving emails from SEARCH staff about specific in-kind needs for particular individuals and families. Thank you for considering a donation to SEARCH!
SEARCH’s House of Tiny Treasures In-Kind Drive:
- Diapers (sizes 5 – 6)
- Diaper genie refill bags
- Size 2T-6T underwear
- Size 2T-6T bottoms
- Baby wipes
- Swim diapers (sizes 5 – 6)
- Laundry detergent (baby-friendly)
Essential Items In-Kind Drive:
- Household cleaning supplies
- Toilet paper
- Laundry detergent (liquid or Pods)
- Full-sized deodorant/antiperspirant
- Adult socks
- Backpacks/drawstring bags
- Menstrual products, especially pads
- Hand sanitizer
- Paper towels
- First aid kits
- Instant coffee
- Bottled water
Number of volunteers: Open. This opportunity often works well for larger groups!
Time: Item drop-off is Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location:Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave. or SEARCH’s House of Tiny Treasures located at 2323 Francis St. SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator will specify a location!
Volunteer role: Host a fundraiser benefiting SEARCH and/or HTT. Suggestions include but are not limited to bake sales; golf tournaments; softball games; donation-based yoga classes; movie nights; and charitable gift registries for celebrations like weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs. SEARCH also encourages our network to raise awareness and funds through Facebook fundraisers. Additionally, we can help interested supporters setup text-to-give campaigns. Please contact Sondee Chalcraft to learn more.
Number of volunteers: Open
Time: As scheduled
Location: Open. SEARCH staff would love to attend your event if possible, and please let us know how we can assist with organization!
Volunteer role: Newly housed clients need a place for the keys to their new apartments! We welcome volunteer help creating simple keychains that SEARCH can include in the “Welcome Home” gifts clients receive. Ideas for key chains include this and this. However, you are free to make the keychains as elaborate as you would like.
Number of volunteers: Open. This opportunity often works well for larger groups!
Time: Item drop-off is Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave.
Volunteer role: SEARCH is always looking for tote bags for clients shopping in our food pantry and for our Outreach Team to use for distributing basic necessities on the streets. We invite volunteers to decorate affordable totes (example here) or even simple, sturdier paper grocery sacks using fabric markers, paint, embroidery, etc. and to include encouraging notes in those bags. As with all encouraging notes for SEARCH clients, we ask that notes not include dates, contact information, last names, or religious information such as references to deities.
Number of volunteers: Open. This opportunity often works well for larger groups!
Time: Item drop-off is Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave.
Volunteer role: During hurricane season from June to November, people living on the streets face an elevated risk of displacement and unsafe conditions. We’d really appreciate your help assembling “hurricane kits” to enhance their disaster preparedness. For this project, we recommend that volunteers place the following items in a plastic container or large Ziploc:
- Bottled water
- Rain poncho
- Flashlights plus compatible batteries (no candles, please!)
- Non-perishable snacks
- Hand-cranked radios
- Backup lighting batteries
- Ziploc plastic bags for important documents
- Toilet paper
- First aid kit
Number of volunteers: Open. This opportunity often works well for larger groups! We usually need ~300 kits per hurricane season.
Time: Item drop-off is Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave.
Volunteer role: Food pantries typically do not carry items like cooking oils, flour, sugar, essential spices, and basic condiments. We invite volunteers to package these items in reusable totes or storage containers for SEARCH case managers to distribute to individuals and families upon move in. Please feel free to include encouraging notes! Please don’t include dates, contact information, last names, religious references, or seasonal information such as references to holidays.
Number of volunteers: Open. This opportunity often works well for larger groups! We usually need 10-15 kits per month.
Time: Item drop-off is Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave.
Volunteer role: Host a holiday stocking drive with your family, friends, or community to benefit SEARCH clients. These gifts will bring joy and help to meet some basic needs during the holiday season.
We recommend that volunteers stuff stockings with a $10 gift card to a grocery store like Kroger, Fiesta, or Walmart or to a dollar store. Additional items volunteers may want to add to stockings include socks, gloves, hats, scarves, activity books (Sudoku, crossword, adult coloring), and pre-packaged holiday snacks (no homemade, please, and savory preferred over sweet when possible).
Number of volunteers: Open. This opportunity often works well for larger groups!
Time: Early November through early December. Drop-off is open Tuesday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Please schedule with SEARCH’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Location: Drop-off at SEARCH’s main building located at 2015 Congress Ave.
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