Condom donation in NYC

July 5, 2017 9:33 AM

For Reasons, I have a lot of condoms (somewhere in the range of 100-200). Where can I donate them in NYC?

They are not expired. Are there any NYC local organizations that you know, definitively, that will take the lot? Or a local school nurse or health teacher you know who will take them? Or any US-based organizations I can definitively ship them to?

posted by paradeofblimps to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Are they in a sealed box? If they aren't, I don't think anyone will take them because the chance of tampering is too high.
posted by radiopaste at 9:45 AM on July 5, 2017 [8 favorites]

Even if they are in a sealed box, there's a risk they've been exposed to too-high temperatures, making them less effective. Not saying there's actually anything wrong with them, but the people you might want to donate them too can't verify it, and the risk/reward ratio when it comes to possibly iffy condoms is pretty darn skewed.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:57 AM on July 5, 2017

Talk to local bars or music venues. I give away free condoms all the time for work and 100-200 isn't enough for me to want to pick up a donation (for context, a box of 100 usually costs a non profit about $10-15)
posted by raccoon409 at 9:58 AM on July 5, 2017

Just put them in a shoebox in your building's laundry room (or wherever all the free to take stuff goes in your building) with a note saying "Take some (or all)" - they'll disappear along with the paperbacks, canned goods, reading glasses, and whatever else.
posted by Calloused_Foot at 10:10 AM on July 5, 2017 [7 favorites]

The only thing I can think of that wouldn't be viewed as sketchy is giving them to people you know and who trust you as a gift. Otherwise, the risk of accepting potentially tampered-with condoms is just too great; boxes can be resealed and pinholes are hard to see and I can't imagine any organization being so hard up that it's worth their time to inspect ~200 of them. In this day and age there are still enough people that are Motivated against the Gays and/or Promiscuity that being careful about this would still be the best policy.
posted by Aleyn at 3:45 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

For Reasons, there is no reasonable situation where such a donation, as proposed, would be well welcomed.

An artist/performance artist might be interested. Post a craiglist/whatever offering 100-200 condoms-in-original-packages free to a good artistic home/cause.
posted by porpoise at 12:08 AM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]