Best place to donate a tent?

June 9, 2018 6:34 AM

My spouse and I have a two-person tent we are looking to offload because we are now a three-person family. Is there a type of charitable organization that might appreciate a donated tent? I think Mr. eirias is thinking along the lines of advocacy for the homeless (though one respondent to this previous question suggested that that might not be as useful as it sounds). Our fallback is the thrift store down the street. In case anyone might have really specific suggestions, we are in Madison, WI.
posted by eirias to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

The Badgerland Council of the Girl Scouts will take outdoor gear donations and make them available for check out to troops or girl scouts who do not have their own supplies. This is a great way to get girls outdoors who may not have the opportunity otherwise. This spring we went (from a different council) on a backpacking overnight and 1/3 of the girls had checked-out gear.
Here's the council's link: Badgerland Council of Girl Scouts.
posted by smuna at 6:50 AM on June 9, 2018 [14 favorites]

Seconding donating it to a Scouting org.
posted by slkinsey at 6:58 AM on June 9, 2018

I personally would be motivated to donate to a group like this, which gets urban youth out into nature.

Providing safe and fun wilderness trips for people with limited access to the outdoors. Volunteer leaders collaborate with community partners to get outdoors with people -- especially youth -- who may not have access on their own to safely discover the wonders of the natural world.

Here is their equipment donation page.
posted by AFABulous at 8:07 AM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

I was going to suggest Girl Scouts too
posted by leahwrenn at 8:56 AM on June 9, 2018

The agency where I work often looks for tents (new, used) for people who are experiencing homelessness. We know the tents won't survive long-term - yes, police sometimes take them, sometimes bylaw, sometimes random jerks trash the tents while the owners have stepped away, etc. But for many of our clients, that's their only housing option. It gets destroyed and they just.. rebuild. No other option exists. Tarps, tents, blankets.. whatever they can get. Don't count out the agencies that work with people experiencing homelessness.
posted by VioletU at 9:18 AM on June 9, 2018 [2 favorites]

It would be worth calling Porchlight to see if they would want it. They are an agency in Madison involved in numerous social services for the homeless.

Here is their donation page.
posted by graxe at 5:58 PM on June 9, 2018

Definitely Scouts. We did it. Our large tent was particularly appreciated at the Scout Canada gathering, held in a very windy spot. It's one of the few that didn't get blown across the field.
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:06 PM on June 10, 2018