Donation Drives
IBB holds donation drives periodically throughout the year when we are in need of specific items or age range. The best way to keep up with our current needs and the types of donation drives we are holding is to follow us on social media!
What is in a backpack?
Our backpacks are filled with essential and comfort items that would help a child through the first 24-48 hours of being displaced from their home. While we remain deeply committed to our original vision serving youth of all ages, changes in our storage capacity have led us to temporarily focus our efforts on supporting youth ages 12 and up. This shift allows us to continue meeting urgent needs among older youth who may be navigating housing instability, transitioning out of care or justice involvement, or working to rebuild safety and stability after experiencing exploitation or crisis.
Why we ask for new items with receipts:
Many of these kiddos will have left home very suddenly with nothing but the clothes on their backs or a garbage bag filled hastily with a few belongings. They may have never owned anything new before or even owned a hair or toothbrush let alone a new pair of pajamas. In a traumatic event, receiving a backpack filled with a brand-new pair of pants, a comforting stuffed animal and fuzzy blanket with a gift card and book can make the difference between “I don’t feel safe and I don’t belong” to “people in my community care about me and I am safe”. It can provide hope and dignity and a fresh start.
We ask for receipts for our value tracking system and to follow government reporting standards for NP organizations. A receipt is nice to have for us, but certainly not a necessity in order to donate.
Where can you drop off donations?
Our sponsor Sentinel Storage has set up donation boxes in their front office at three of their locations. Please visit them during their operational hours:
What items should I donate?
You, your family, or your organization may want to collect all of the items that go into a backpack for a certain age range and build a full backpack to drop off or just collect for specific items like clothing, toiletries, or blankets. Many people will watch for sales and pick up an extra item while shopping for their own children and drop them in our donation bins. We ask that clothing and blankets be kept small enough to pack into backpacks and if possible, place liquids into Ziploc bags prior to adding to a backpack.
Monetary Donations:
Ultimately, unrestricted financial donations help our organization’s ability to immediately impact kids’ lives. Financial gifts keep us operating when times get tough. They pay for shipping & printing costs, miscellaneous supplies like tags and baggies, purchasing items when in-kind donations are low, web, email and other technology and infrastructure expenses to keep us going. As we grow and expand, these funds can help us pay future part time salaries and professionals to assist on larger projects and operational pieces as needed.