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Help Meet a Child’s Needs With

Giving Factory Direct Logo

More than 20 million American children lack the appropriate clothes they need to thrive.

Sign up and donate two outfits with Giving Factory® Direct.

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Donate Clothes Now

How It Works:

Giving Factory Direct is an innovative, new clothing donation program to support children facing Clothing Insecurity in our communities.

You and your family donate two outfits from the comfort of your home directly to a child who needs them.

    1. Sign up, start a donation, get matched with a child.
    2. Pack two outfits (gently used or new) for the child you’re matched with.
    3. Ship (for free) directly to the child in need.
    4. Spread the word about Giving Factory Direct.

Watch the video below to learn about our process!

 

Questions? See the FAQs below.

More questions? Email support@givingfactorydirect.org

Children's Clothing Insecurity: A Hidden Crisis

More than 20 million American children currently live below 200% of the federal poverty line (a total of $53,000 for a family of four, annually). All are at risk of being clothing insecure. Not having appropriate clothing harms a child’s health, safety, and self-esteem, factors known to impact a child’s academic performance and long-term success.

Cradles to Crayons® believes that all children should have what they need at home, at school, and at play. We’ve been connecting communities to provide no-cost access to these essentials since 2002. Now, thanks to Giving Factory Direct, we can go beyond our current service areas to support those 20 million children across the country.  

Donate Clothes Now

Our Impact:

“A child was coming in without a coat on –he’d have three hoodies on because the parents couldn’t afford a coat for him –once I placed the order, the parent was nearly in tears that they were able to receive a coat.”

—Sheltering Arms, NYC Service Partner

“Remy loves to dress up and the beautiful clothes she received made her feel like a princess. In this time when so many of us have so little you made us feel that we lack nothing.”

—Remy’s Mother

“Giving Factory Direct clothing quality has been great! It’s been so impactful because they have been the largest provider of clothing at this point and we have integrated the program into our donation process.”

—Win NYC, NYC Service Partner

“The children are super happy and excited –the next day they will come in and say, ‘Look what I’m wearing!’ One child received a tutu dress and she did not want to stop wearing it.”

—Sheltering Arms, NYC Service Partner

Fund the Cause

Fund the Cause

Make a financial donation to help us get more clothes to children in need.

Make a Donation

What Goes In My Clothing Donation?

Two high-quality, seasonally appropriate outfits.

Package them at home and ship (for free!) to one of our service partners who will deliver your donation to a child in need.

A cornerstone of our mission, our Quality = Dignity guidelines ensure that all donations meet the standards every child deserves.

Watch the video to review our quality standards!

 

Donate Clothes Now

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the goal of Giving Factory Direct?
Giving Factory Direct delivers clothing straight from families who would like to make a difference to families facing clothing insecurity. Children receive a KidPack—a package of high-quality, seasonally appropriate, essential clothing—packaged and shipped by participating donors, and delivered by one of our service partners.
What are Cradles to Crayons’ quality standards?

At Cradles to Crayons, we believe that Quality = Dignity. Giving Factory Direct uses donated clothing that has been hand-selected with care to meet a boy or girl’s specific needs. Please ensure that your gently used donations are washed and high-quality (no rips, stains, or inappropriate messaging). Click here to watch our quality standards video.

How can I get involved and what's expected?

Signup is easy! Go to givingfactorydirect.org and create an account. From there you will be prompted to take our Quality Quiz to ensure your donations meet our standards.

Then, enter the sizes of the clothing you have to donate (or let us know if you’d like to go shopping for a child) and you will be matched to a child. If you are not matched immediately, look for an email within 3 days with your match!

Once matched, you have 10 days to ship your clothing using theI pre-paid UPS shipping label provided. If you need more time, email us at support@givingfactorydirect.org.

All of your account information and matches can be accessed by logging into givingfactorydirect.org at any time.

Should I wash the clothes before I ship them?
All donations should meet our Quality = Dignity standards and should be cleaned prior to shipping. Please make sure that your clothing is clean and high-quality before including it in your KidPack.
What is considered “seasonally appropriate”?
All donors should ship clothing that is appropriate for the current weather where the child you are matched with lives. If it is close to a change in season, it is appropriate to include some items for the months ahead.
How do I ensure that the items I send are in the correct sizes?
Every child matched is a specific request from a family, and our Service Partners are meticulous about providing accurate sizing information. Please only donate clothing in the exact size requested. We cannot accept clothing in sizes that do not match the child’s request. (Even if your child is the same age and a different size or same size and a different age, please follow the size as listed in the match.)
What sizes do you accept?
All clothing donations (KidPacks) are given to children ages 0–12. We accept sizes 0–3 months to youth 18/20 (adult medium). If donating adult sizes extra small, small, or medium, please make sure the clothing is appropriate for a child to wear.
Who receives the clothing donations (KidPacks) from Giving Factory Direct?
Our network of Service Partners place orders for the families they work with—and we match donors to those orders! When a Giving Factory Direct package is delivered to the Service Partner who placed the order, they make arrangements to deliver it to the child within days.
How do I ship my donation?

All packages must be shipped using the pre-paid UPS label provided through Giving Factory Direct. You must provide your own box. The label provided will contain all the appropriate information to process your package and deliver it to the child you have been matched with.

Can I ship more than one KidPack in a single box/bag?

No! All clothing donations must be shipped separately using the auto-generated UPS label provided to ensure they are processed correctly and delivered to the correct child. Please do NOT put multiple donations into one box even if they are going to the same location, as they may be going to different families.

Do I have to ship my KidPack? Can I drop it off?

All donations must be shipped using the UPS shipping label provided to ensure they are processed correctly and delivered to the matched child. PLEASE DO NOT DROP KIDPACKS OFF AT THE LOCATION.

If I am matched with a child and I am unable to send it within the time frame, can I send it at a later date?

If you are unable to ship your KidPack within ten days of being matched, please email support@givingfactorydirect.org and we can give you a shipping extension.

Can I buy new clothing for any child or match to donate for any size?

You are welcomed to buy new clothing as long as you are able to pack and ship your clothing donation (KidPack) using the auto-generated UPS label within ten days of being matched. DO NOT ship new clothing from online retailers directly to the Service Partner as they will not be able to identify who the clothing is for.

I have more to give. Can I ship extra items?

Not yet! Please only donate the clothing requested as specified by the information on the match. Many children and families receiving a clothing donation (KidPack) must transport their items on public transportation and the predetermined KidPack contents are easy to carry. If you live near Boston, Chicago, or Philadelphia, you can always bring additional items to a drop-off location near one of our Giving Factories.

I have already donated a significant amount of my clothing or I don’t have a complete KidPack to donate today. How else can I support Cradles to Crayons?
Right now, we cannot accept items that do not meet the criteria of a complete KidPack. However, you can help us grow the Giving Factory Direct program by making a financial gift here.