The Best Places to Donate in San Diego

San Diego is a truly magical city. There are many pros to living in this lively city, a million ways to stay healthy, and more than a million exciting things to do. One thing that stands out about this stunning city is that San Diegans are very much about helping their neighbors. In this article, Places to Donate in San Diego, we examine where to donate furniture, where to donate clothes, and food donation in San Diego.

If you’ve got clothing, toys, furniture, books, even cars and trucks that you’d like to donate, this list will tell you where and when you can do just that. By the way, if you’ve got things you want to keep but don’t have space in your San Diego home or office, a self-storage unit at CA Storage is always an affordable, secure and convenient option.

Where to Donate Furniture in San Diego

donate furniture in san diego

Donating furniture is an excellent way to help out families who might not be able to afford it. Not only is it an environmentally responsible thing to do, but it’s also a more accessible option than just dumping it. Why? Because many of the places to donate furniture in San Diego come and pick up your unwanted furniture. Here is our favorite:

Father Joe’s Villages 

With several locations around San Diego, Father Joe’s Villages is an excellent choice for donating you older, unwanted stuff. Not only can you drop it off, but they will come and pick it up for you. Super convenient! More importantly, Father Joe’s uses 100% of the revenues they earn, selling your stuff to help the homeless in San Diego. 100%! That’s amazing in so many ways! They accept donations of clothing, household goods and appliances, furniture, electronics, toys, books, and more. They only ask that you make sure everything you want to donate is on their list. Father Joe’s is a great choice for where to donate furniture in San Diego.

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Daily Auctions & Donation Center
815 33rd St.
San Diego, CA 92102
Hours: Mon-Sat 8 am to 5 pm

Thrift Store & Donation Center
1555 Palm Ave., Suite F
San Diego, CA 92154
Hours: Mon-Sat 8 am to 5 pm

Thrift Store & Donation Center
2325 Fletcher Parkway
El Cajon, CA 92020
Hours: Mon-Sat 8 am to 5 pm

Thrift Store & Donation Center
1457 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours: Mon-Sat 8 am to 5 pm
Phone: (619) 446-2100

Places to Donate Clothes in San Diego

Places to Donate Clothes

When you’re ready to get rid of your gently used articles of clothing, don’t throw them away! Give them back to your community or local thrift store. Even if your used clothing doesn’t go directly to someone in need, the clothing sales revenue usually goes back to help the nonprofit that owns the thrift store. Not to mention, it’s much better for the environment! Here are a few places to donate clothing in San Diego:

San Diego Rescue Mission

The San Diego Rescue Mission is another donation location that helps the homeless in San Diego by selling used stuff and using the profits in many crucial, helpful, and kind ways. You can donate things there and donate your time as a volunteer, so if you don’t have the stuff to donate but want to help, keep that in mind. They always need volunteers for their many activities. Like most donation centers, they take a wide variety of things but gently used clothing, and household goods are the most helpful. They also accept donations of cars, vans, and other vehicles and, in San Diego county, will come and pick them up right at your door. It’s a great place to donate clothes in San Diego.

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North Park Thrift Store
3055 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104
Phone: 619-819-1855
Hours: Mon-Sat 9:30 am – 5:30 pm

Point Loma Thrift Store
3601 Sports Arena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Phone: 619-819-1785
Hours: Mon-Sat 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Sundays 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Mission Donation Center
5150 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92104
Phone: 619-819-1793
Hours: Mon- Fri 8 am. – 3:30 pm.

The Salvation Army Family Store & Donation Center

For over 100 years, the Salvation Army has been helping people worldwide through the revenues they create selling used, donated goods. In San Diego, they have a significant presence and an even bigger location. They also sell all the donated clothing, toys, books, household goods, and appliances there. Even if you don’t have a donation to make, you can support them by purchasing something. Please note that the Salvation Army has many drop-off locations around San Diego. We’ve listed their central location.

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1335 Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours: Mon – Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm
Phone: (619) 239-4037

P.V. Thrift Store (Affiliated with Friendships for Hope)

This is another great place to donate clothes in San Diego. The unique thing about P.V. Thrift Store is that the money they make selling your used stuff provides funding and work-study programs for refugees. This helps them learn English, acquire skills, and get the jobs they need to become Americans. They accept clothing, household goods, and any other gently-used stuff that you’re looking to donate.

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3400 E 8th St Ste 112
National City, CA 91950
Hours: Mon – Thurs & Sun 9 am to 5 pm
Fri – 9 am to 3 pm
Sat – Closed
Phone: (619) 399-5998

United Cerebral Palsy Thrift Store

Cerebral Palsy is a disease that affects 1 in 500 children. United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is doing its best to end this terrible affliction. When you donate your used stuff to their Thrift Store, you’re helping them a great deal in their noble endeavor. They accept donations of gently used clothing, toys, small household goods, and much more. Their thrift store is exceptionally well run and looks like a regular department store. So if you don’t have anything to donate, you can help them by going in and making a purchase. 

UCP also takes donations of cars or trucks but ask that you call (855)-500-7433 first. Also, and this is unique, you can host a clothing drive through UCP! Even better, they will work with you to create promotional flyers and posters to get maximum exposure and the most donations! They have 3 Thrift Stores and 11 Drop-off locations around San Diego, so there’s bound to be one close to you! We also recommend you check out their website for the fantastic discounts they offer almost every day for seniors, the military, and students too!

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Chula Vista
405 Broadway
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Phone: (619) 426-6446

City Heights
4341 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105
Phone: (619) 285-9014

Pacific Beach
1454 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
Phone: (858) 490-6400
Hours: Hours: Mon – Fri – 8 am – 12 pm & 1 pm – 3 pm

Where to Make A Food Donation in San Diego

Food donations are an excellent and inexpensive way to show how much you care about your community. According to a study by the San Diego Hunger Coalition (which, by the way, is an excellent organization to donate to), an estimated 443,000 people in San Diego County experienced food insecurity. That is 1 in 7 people in San Diego who go to bed hungry at night. So how do we help? The answer is simple; make a food donation. Here’s where we suggest donating to:

The San Diego Food Bank

The San Diego Food Bank provides nutritious food to individuals and families in need in San Diego County. It is the largest hunger-relief organization in the area and the perfect place to make a food donation in San Diego. Last year, the Food Bank distributed 28 million pounds of food. The food bank itself serves approximately 350,000 people per month. We think that’s an amazing way to make a food donation in San Diego.

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9850 Distribution Avenue
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: 1-858-527-1419

Where to Store Your Stuff in San Diego

As you can see, we believe in donating to help those in need. However, there are times when you might want to hold onto some of your things but simply don’t have space at home or your business. It’s then when CA Storage can help. We have several San Diego locations, where you can rent a self-storage unit in several different sizes. Our locations are very secure with video-monitoring 24/7 and large, keypad-controlled front gates that you can quickly enter with a car or moving truck.

From household goods to sporting equipment, baby furniture, clothing, and anything else that you want to keep, we have the right size storage space for you. We also have climate-controlled storage for those things that can’t take the heat and humidity. You can talk to one of our friendly managers or chat with one of them online. When you’re ready, you can also reserve your San Diego storage unit using our easy online application form. So, again, donate what you can and, when you need extra storage space, contact CA Storage.

Donating in San Diego is Easy

We hope you found a place to donate on our list today that’s close by and that you’ll help support one of these wonderful organizations. Every time you donate, you help people in need all over San Diego. So don’t throw it away; donate today!

3 thoughts on “The Best Places to Donate in San Diego”

  1. I want to bid on a car tomorrow and buy an automobile, please give the location where I can go and do this and buy a car for myself. from Father Joe’s automobile auction, and buy a car..

    Thank you
    Sincerely
    Franklin Graham
    6197010262
    4fhgetty@gmail.com

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