Our hospital only accepted knit footies made to a certain pattern

It is a waste of everyone’s time and resources if they are making items that are unusable. I would send letters to each group saying “while we greatly appreciate the items you have sent and they have been distributed, we have come to notice that our clientele is especially in need of the following:....then list what you need, sizes, pattern #’s, etc.

if I were in charge of a group making items I would want to know that what is being made is what the organization wants and can use.

Our hospital too, has a policy about knitted donations. They give a pattern for baby hats, they specify sizes for quilts. They also accept fabric standard size pillowcases to help brighten hospital rooms. They encourage gender neutral items and will only accept smoke free, new items with no buttons, ties, etc. So I think it would be wise to make a little policy and then convey that information to your donators.

ps I have and will always keep my baby’s newborn hospital hat :)

I agree with Robo. Create a policy on donations. Come up with a list of things you actually do need and could use and specifications on how to make them. Then you can tell this group that you are instituting a new policy and that's why you are contacting them. Also, will help avoid any further problems going forward for you!

Agree with the above. Create a specific policy regarding donations, and simply say in communication to those groups who have been donating that this is an effort to standardize and streamline the whole process. You might need to iterate that ONLY items meeting specifications are usable.

Exactly what I pinkmountain said: Start a new policy defining what items you need and specifications for them (if they are hand made). Distribute the information to the charities that have already donated and be ready to share the policy information with anyone expressing interest in donating. Their hearts are in the right place, but it's a waste of time and materials.

Agree with the ‘new policy’ decision. You don’t come across as the ‘bad lady’ who doesn’t appreciate their hard work, and they can choose whether to continue to contribute something that is in line with what you really need.

Good luck!

Yup, "new policy", maybe even implied to have come from someone else other than you. Start and end with thank you and praise. In the middle, be very specific and make it clear that you can ONLY accept things meeting certain criteria.

This problem is a common one. People do not always think through donating.

I think the idea of a "new policy" is a good one. I can then spell out what we specifically need and will use instead of me having closets filled with items that may never get used. I had not thought of approaching it this way, thanks all!!

In the note I sent to one group, I mentioned that we were very fortunate to have many groups willing to donate more than we were able to use and what a nice dilemma that was to have.