Donations to Dr. Bear’s Closet

Making a monetary donation to Dr. Bear’s Closet allows us to purchase highly requested items for patients and families as well as the programs we support.

By Check

Please make checks payable to Children’s National Medical Center or CNMC with “Dr. Bear’s Closet” in the memo line and mail to:

Children’s National Hospital
Attn: Volunteer Services Office, Suite 1180
111 Michigan Ave NW
Washington, DC 20010

Online

Make an online donation to Dr. Bear’s Closet.

• Items that are gift-wrapped
• Any used or opened items
• Items that have been in storage (donated items must have been purchased within the last 3-6 months)
• Handmade knit, fleece or crocheted blankets or clothing (i.e. hats)
• Items that contain latex
• Cards, notes or letters (including homemade cards)
• Items that have been exposed to smoke or other strong scents
• Food/candy/formula
• Stuffed animals without a tag
• Collectible items
• Sharp items (i.e. threading needle, pencil sharpeners)
• Breakable items (i.e. porcelain, glass, handmade wooden toys)
• Stuffed animals more than 18 inches tall
• Beanie babies or other stuffed animals with small pellets
• Items that contain any personal information
• Handmade jewelry
• Toys, books or movies with sensitive issues (i.e. violence, politics, holidays, religion, death, divorce, weapons, etc.)

For infection control, safety and confidentiality reasons, donors are not able to visit with or distribute gifts directly to patients.

For safety reasons, we currently encourage donors to focus on giving through our online wish list. If you do plan to host a drive to collect brand new items for our patients and families, please ensure that proper precautions are in place.

We typically reserve service hours for individuals volunteering onsite at Children’s National Hospital. However, due to our current limited onsite opportunities, we can sign off on service hours for individuals who engaged in service projects or hosted a donation drive to benefit the hospital.

Thank you for your interest in supporting Children’s National Hospital! For a list of current community support opportunities, please see our Community Support Opportunities Guide (PDF).