Gifts in Kind

Donations to the charity don’t have to take the form of cash. In-kind donations help the charity carry out its work. You can give many items such as office equipment for the charity, artwork for an auction and prizes for events. Equally, gifts in-kind might make a difference to the quality of life of a child on one of our wards, if you have a something suitable to donate.

Donating a toy to the Children’s Medical and Research Foundation is one way to bring cheer to a sick child's day. See a below to get ideas for items to donate. Spending time in the hospital can be difficult for children and their families; special toys and activities help to make their hospital experience less stressful. Families around Ireland rely on Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin. These same families rely on people like you for support. Please check the list below as there are some restrictions on items that can be accepted to go into the Hospital e.g. soft toys.

For the safety and welfare of our patients, all donated items must be new and unwrapped.   Our Lady’s Childrens Hospital, Crumlin operates a policy of using new toys only due to strict Infection Control reasons. New cuddly toys can be given to children when they are leaving the hospital or if they are attending a day clinic e.g. in A&E Dept or Outpatients.

Please refer to the list of suggested items or contact us for more information.

Day-to-Day

• Colouring crayons or pencils (for various safety reasons, pens and markers are not used).
• Colouring books or sheets
• Books (similar to toys, OLCHC can only accept new books due to Infection Control reasons.)

We can never have enough of these types of materials to help entertain children in clinics or in the wards.

Baby wards

At OLCHC there are 3 baby wards (St Peter’s; Nazareth and Teresa’s). Items with the correct safety standards (see safety guidelines) regularly used on the wards include:

•  Mobiles for hanging over cots
• Teething rings; rattles etc
• Play bricks; hoops
• Play building blocks
• Push cart for infant
• Infant Crawler
• Infant rocking seats
• Play gyms
• Toys that can be attached to the cots
• CD’s (baby music) and CD players
• Clothes sets (e.g. bibs,Bayboro’s) - these can give a great lift to the parent(s)

Please note due to Infection Control reasons, baby toys cannot have material on them.

Middle age (children 3 - 10)

The following are some examples of items we find useful on the children’s wards:

•  Dressing-up outfits
• Toys related to TV shows, e.g. The Simpsons / Thomas the Tank /Bratz/ Hanna Montana etc.
• Transformers
• Jigsaws ; Puzzles
• Crayons/Books;
• Stencil sets;Easels
• Craft sets (e.g.Crayola)
• Cars / Garages / Farms for boys
• Train sets
• Dolls &  buggies
• Tea sets
• Play kitchens / sinks
• Play Doh
• Board Games
• Activity type toys (e.g. Early Learning Centre)
• Selection Boxes at Christmas

Teenagers

• Make-up sets for girls
• Hair accessories
• Electronic games
• Board games
• Books / Annuals
• Play stations / Nintendo / XBox /Wii
• Games for the play station/Nintendo/Xbox/Wii
• Portable DVD players
• Portable CD players
• Ds Lite
• Mind memory games
• DVDfilms
• Music CD's
• Computer related games

Toy and Gift Safety Guidelines

Toys are needed year-round for children from infancy through age 18. All gifts must be new and conform to the safety and sanitary guidelines below. Also, because we need to check gifts for safety and age appropriateness, please do not wrap them. Gift-wrapping paper, ribbons, tape and tags are welcomed donations.

• All donations must be new and have the manufacturer and store tags still attached. For the safety and      welfare of our patients, we can not accept any used items.
• Avoid toys with many small parts that can be removed, swallowed or inhaled. Also avoid toys that break easily or have sharp edges or protrusions that can be poked into eyes.
• Only new stuffed toys with a separate manufacturer tag attached (in addition to the sewn-in tag), or those   in unopened packaging, can be accepted due to infection control issues.
• Fire regulations forbid electrical, spark-producing or friction-producing toys.
• Painted toys must be non-toxic. Any glue or paint in craft kits MUST also be non-toxic.
• Medical toys and games are inappropriate because they can contribute to fear about medical procedures.
• Due to varying dietary restrictions, food and candy cannot be given to patients.

And don’t forget one of the most precious things to us all: Your time! Sometimes the Charity has need of experienced professionals who wish to do pro-bono work for us. Your time and expertise could help free up resources so that more money could be spent on the redevelopment of the hospital.