Additional Ways to Help

If you are unable to contribute your time, you can still help Children’s Hospital in a variety of ways by contributing supplies needed for individual and group activities, making blankets and hats or purchasing clothing, food or gift items.

Gifts to Make

Make and Take Projects
Craft supply kits
Pick a craft, collect supplies, write out instructions and place everything in a zippered plastic bag. Crafts are given to patients of all ages through the Arts and Crafts Cart. Great individual craft kits include materials to make Lanyards, key chains, and bracelets. A variety of mini play dough containers with plastic cutters or cookie cutters is another fun craft bag to make.

Scrapbook supply kits
Make kits with everything a child or teen would need to create a fantastic scrapbook while at Children’s Hospital. Remember to include a small scrapbook or scrapbook pages, glue, scissors, markers, stamps, stickers, etc.

Stationery kits
Create a kit that includes all supplies necessary for children and teens to keep in touch with family and friends at home. Items to remember are stamps, stationery paper, envelopes, pens with different colors of ink, pencils, stickers, etc.

Game party and Bingo prizes
Collect small prizes to be used during the game parties (The prizes should be brand new, yet inexpensive). Patients of all ages participate so the prizes should appeal to everyone. Most prizes should cost no more than $5.

Parent necessity kits
Make kits for parents who left home in a hurry and forgot their daily necessities. Necessity items may include: shampoo, razors, deodorant, brushes, toothpaste, individually prepackaged toothbrushes, etc. Fun items to include: crossword puzzles, word search books, lotions, fingernail polish, etc. The sample sized versions of these products that you receive while traveling are perfect for this project!

Waiting room fun bags
Fill a bag with fun things a child or teen can do as they wait to visit the doctor. Make bags age-specific, but generic enough for a boy or a girl. Include things such as: crayons, markers, colored pencils, paper, coloring books, play dough, stickers, baseball cards, comic books, etc.

More Ideas:

• Create music tapes for children
• Make seasonal door signs (no larger than 8½" x 11")
• Make greeting cards or lunch tray placemats
• Make Happy Birthday door signs
• Collect new and used DVDs/ and videos for children and teens in English and Spanish
• Collect recent magazines, new games, playing cards and music tapes that teenagers enjoy
• Make standard size pillowcases made of flannel or cotton for both boys and girls of all ages
• Make isolette covers (Download pattern and instructions)

Please contact Child Life at (559) 353-5876 to share your idea or to receive more information about donations.

Gifts to Purchase

Thank you for your interest in supporting the patients of Children’s Hospital Central California. Your donations are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Below is a list of purchased items we gladly accept to share with our patients.

Toys
Donations must be new, unwrapped and safe for children (no small pieces, non-toxic). We are not able to accept used stuffed animals or used toys for infection control reasons. Our La Tienda Guild Thrift Store will gladly accept your used toys and stuffed animals. All proceeds from store sales are donated to the Hospital. The Ronald McDonald House will also welcome your gently used toys and stuffed animals.

Infants and Toddlers
Balls
Bath toys
Bubbles
Chunky books
Crib mirrors
Fisher Price flashlight
Fisher Price medical kits
Fisher Price tape player
Light-up toys
Lullaby CDs
Mobiles
Musical toys
Play telephones
Pop-up toys
Push-pull toys
Rain sticks
Rattles and shakers
See-n-Say toys (both large and small)
Sesame Street books
Shape sorters
Small musical toys (for use in cribs)
Stuffed animals for babies
Teething rings
Toddler Duplos
Trains, especially Thomas the Train
Wind-up TV/Radio
Wooden knob puzzles (up to 24 pieces)

Children ages 3-12 (specific age range noted accordingly, i.e. 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
Action figures (esp. Super Heroes), 6-8
Balls (sports and Nerf), 6-8
Barbie and Ken dolls (all races) & clothes, 6-8
Cars and trucks, 3-5/6-8
Dolls (multi-cultural), 3-5/6-8
Dora the Explorer (anything), 3-5
Dress-up accessories, 3-5/6-8
Etch-A-Sketch, 6-8
Kaleidoscopes, all ages
K’nex, 6-8/9-12
Lego and Bionicle kits, 6-8/9-12
Baby dolls, 3-5
Magna Doodle/Magna Doodle Pro, 6-8/9-12
Matchbox cars, 6-8/9-12
Models, snap together, 6-8/9-12
My Little Pony, 6-8
Plug-in TV games, 6-8/9-12
Power Rangers, 6-8, 9-12
Puzzles (25-100 pieces), 6-8/9-12
Remote control cars and trucks, 6-8/9-12
Tool sets, 6-8/9-12
View Master and slides, 6-8/9-12

Teenagers ages 13+
Bath gels and lotions
Cameras (regular and disposable)
CD cases
Cosmetics and cosmetic bags
Craft kits
Dry erase boards
Electronic hand-held games
Gift cards (Old Navy, Target, iTunes, etc.)
Hats, caps & visors (e.g. Lakers, Fresno State, Giants, Dodgers)
Jewelry
Journals
Lip gloss
Manicure sets
Nail polish
Nerf basketball sets
Pajama pants (boys and girls)
Perfume/cologne
Picture frames
Portable DVD players
Slippers
Sports/entertainment memorabilia
T-shirts (e.g. Lakers, Fresno State, Giants, Dodgers)
Wallets
Watches

Arts and Crafts
Acrylic paint
Beads/bead kits
Colored pencils
Coloring books
Craft kits
Crayola washable markers
Crayons
Elmer’s glue, glue sticks, glitter glue pens
Jewelry making kits
Model car sets
Model Magic
Origami paper
Paint-by-number
Pipe cleaners
Play-doh (and accessories)
Sand art kits
Scissors (blunt scissors for children)
Small posters (fuzzy) with markers
Stickers
Watercolor sets

Music Therapy and Musical Instruments
Guitar picks
Harmonicas
iPods
iTunes gift cards
Maracas and shakers
Martin Marquis Acoustic Guitar Strings-light gauge
Music documentary DVDs
Noise cancelling head phones
Recordable CDs
Tambourines
Triangle

Games
Battleship
Boggle
Checkers
Clue
Connect Four
Guess Who
Lucky Ducks
Memory
Monopoly
Playing cards
Pop-A-Matic Trouble
Pretty-Pretty Princess
Sorry
Travel-sized games
Uno

Electronics
Boom boxes (CD/Radio)
CDs (all ages) and CD players
Computer games
Hand-held electronic games
iPods
MP3 players
Nintendo DS and games
Play Station II games
Plug-in TV games
Wii game systems, accessories and games
Xbox games

All Ages
Beanie babies (new)
Blankets
Books
Gift cards (Old Navy, Target, Toys-R-Us, Wal-Mart, etc.)
Movies, DVDs (G, PG, PG-13)
Stuffed animals (brand new only)
Tickets: Sporting events, Circus, Concerts, etc.

Miscellaneous
Batteries - all sizes
Model glue

Food
Children’s Hospital is committed to providing emergency meal assistance to families and patients with financial need. Our Social Services Department maintains a food pantry stocked with single serve items that can be easily and quickly prepared by a nurse or volunteer and brought to a patient or family member.

Requested Items

• Instant oatmeal packets
• Single serve cereal boxes
• Heat and serve chili, soups and stews
• Top Ramen
• Vienna sausages (small cans)
• Tuna fish/cracker packets
• Single serve applesauce and fruit
• Crackers and peanut butter packets
• Granola bars
• Single serve puddings
• Single serve meals for the microwave
• Plastic containers with lids for storing leftovers

Clothing
The Clothes Closet is designed to assist families and patients who arrive at Children’s unexpectedly and end up staying at the Hospital for several days. Often clothing may be soiled or need to be removed quickly and is thrown away. Some families may not have the means to travel home to get clean clothes.

Requested Items

• Sweatpants for children and adults (all sizes)
• T-shirts for children and adults
• New underwear for children and teens (all sizes)

Books
The Children's Literacy Program at Children's Hospital Central California welcomes donations of new and gently used books for its patients. Good quality children's books are essential to our program's continued success. Through the generous support of the community, we are able to maintain our new and gently used book supply.

Donation recommendations include new and gently used books for children ages 6 months - 18 years, no torn covers or pages, culturally sensitive - written in any language, no books expressing religious beliefs and no romance novels.

Book donations are accepted year round.

Magazines
Magazines that are six months old or younger can be donated for redistribution to patient rooms and outpatient practice waiting areas. Please remove subscription labels containing personal information. Volunteers will also look through the stacks for missed labels before distribution.

Please contact Volunteer Services at (559) 353-5222 for more information about donations.