Holding off on clothing donations [January 24, 2018]
Due to the overwhelming generosity of the community and STEP’s limited storage, we are currently overloaded with clothing donations. STEP does not have room to accept more clothing donations at this time. We ask community members to not bring clothing donations to STEP until at least March 1. Outdoor winter clothes (coats, boots, hats, mittens) are the exception. If you have donations to give, we invite you to give to one of the worthy organizations listed at the bottom of this page.
Each day, STEP’s Clothes Closet is open to serve the clothing needs of St. Louis Park families. STEP accepts donations of new and gently-used clothing and linens to distribute to families at no cost. To best serve St. Louis Park families, we ask that clothing and linens be clean, in good condition, and in season.
STEP often has an abundance of clothing items and limited storage space. For this reason, we ask people to limit their clothing donations to two garbage bags worth of clothes per week.
If you have questions, please call STEP ahead of time (952-925-4899) to double-check we can fully utilize your clothing donations.
Items generally most needed are:
- Infant and Toddler clothing
- Children’s & Teen clothing
- Men’s clothing
- Women’s clothing
- Plus-size clothing
- Blankets or Quilts
- Bedding–sheets & pillowcases, all sizes
- Socks
- Shoes in good condition
- New Underwear
- Seasonal items–Winter Coats, Mittens, Hats, Scarves and Winter Boots
Donations can be dropped off at STEP during office hours (listed on the “Contact Us” page).
Please note that STEP does not accept donations of furniture, dishes, other households items or used toys. We encourage you to find other organizations to donate those items to, such as:
- Reach & Restore: www.reachandrestore.org or 952-933-1393
- Twin Cities Free Market: www.twincitiesfreemarket.org
- Arc’s Value Village: www.arcsvaluevillage.org or 763-544-0006
- St. Louis Park’s curbside household/clothing recycling program: www.stlouispark.org/services/garbage-recycling/recycling/simple-recycling or 866-835-5068
Please drop off donations during our regular open hours at the back of the building. Pull up in the alley and ring the doorbell. A volunteer will answer, take your donations, and provide you with a receipt. Donations left outside the building when STEP is closed will be considered dumping and be referred to law enforcement. Food, clothing, and other donations are vital to STEP’s mission.
