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If you have additional questions or comments about Mittens for Detroit, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!
FAQs: Your Mittens Questions Answered Here
This year our Community Collection Season runs from October 1st through January 10th.
With growing and enthusiastic public and corporate support, more than 375,000 pairs have been collected, purchased, and distributed since 2010.
Our Distribution Partners’ needs are great in our cold Detroit winters. You can help us with our mission – Warming Hearts, Two Hands at a Time.
Please visit our GET INVOLVED page to learn how to donate mittens, make financial contributions, volunteer – and attend our events!
What is Mittens for Detroit?
Mittens for Detroit, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the purpose of collecting, purchasing, and distributing new mittens and gloves to children, teens, and adults in need in Detroit, Michigan, and other nearby underserved cities.
How can I help Mittens for Detroit?
Lots of ways to help MFD!
- Hold a MittenRaiser
Encourage your school, organization, office, service group, or friends to collect new, warm, durable mittens and gloves.
Feature a MittenRaiser as part of your birthday party, bar/bat mitzvah, graduation celebration, store opening, community service project, wedding, office party… Your creativity is your only limit!
- Donate
Let us do your shopping for you! Your tax-deductible monetary donations will help us to purchase new mittens and gloves from our Michigan-based partner, Broner Hat and Gloves, where we can purchase pairs that retail for $18-$20/pair for at greatly reduced prices: Donate Online
- Volunteer
Help with The Big Sort events, October through March. Hundreds of volunteers have a blast every year, as they count, sort, and pack the collected pairs into boxes to get them ready for pick-up by our Distribution Partners.
- Host a public collection!
Perhaps you have a skill or talent that you would like to volunteer to help our small nonprofit – maybe even as a Board of Directors member! Let’s talk, and we will find just the right way for you to enjoy being part of Team Mittens.
Your retail establishment, restaurant, library, office, or any other location can have a collection box for your customers or staff to fill.
In short, we welcome your help, in whatever way is comfortable for you! Get in Touch!
Where can I drop off mittens/gloves?
Thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you, an average of 23,000 new pairs are donated each winter. Most are delivered by the donors to our Community Collection Partners, while others are mailed to us from all over the country.
You can find your closest Community Collection Partner by viewing the interactive map when you click on the LOCATIONS tab.
If you would like to mail the pairs to us, please send them to our MAILING address (this is not our office location):
Mittens for Detroit
Attn: W. Shepherd
2886 Twelve Mile Road
Box 721427
Berkley, MI 48072
Thank you!
Who are the Distribution Partners?
Meet our Distribution Partners.
Our goal is to reach a broad spectrum of the Detroit community, primarily helping the smaller programs, organizations, and schools that might not get as much attention as some of the larger local or national organizations. From the Michigan Veteran’s Foundation to Pontiac School District to The Children’s Center of Wayne County to St. Patrick’s Senior Center to schools and small shelters, Mittens for Detroit remains committed to servicing the needs of ALL segments of Detroit’s community without discrimination.
How can I host a collection box in my shop or business?
We ask that any retailers or companies who wish to have a collection box be able to project that they will collect a minimum of 200 pairs.
If your company is selected as a Community Collection Partner, you will receive notification from us. You will be able to pick up your boxes from us, at your earliest convenience! At the end of the collection season, you will deliver your collection to Mittens for Detroit. At this point we do are not able to deliver or pick up boxes.
Private or in-house collections – MittenRaisers – are not put on our LOCATIONS map.
Mittens for Detroit provides branded collection boxes, posters, and brochures to help you help us! These are free of charge.
In order to offset the cost, we ask that you arrange to pick the materials up at the start of your collection, and then bring the pairs to our office in downtown Detroit at its conclusion. Thank you!
If you would like a collection box for your retail establishment or company, have questions or need more information please Get in Touch.
Do you accept gently used mittens and gloves? What about thin stretchy gloves?
No, we only accept new and unused warm, durable mittens and gloves, in children, teen, and adult sizes. Please do not donate the thin, stretchy “magic” gloves from the dollar stores. More info: Donating mittens? Here’s what to know
If you would like to donate financially to us, we can use your donation to pairs that are better for the recipient of your gift: Donate Online
Handmade pairs that are knit, crocheted, or sewn are welcome as long as the are NEW and UNWORN.
Please visit our Making Mittens page for patterns and resources.
Do you accept handmade gloves?
Yes! We LOVE handmade pairs! In fact, we were honored to be part of a beautiful article on charity knitting – a kind of farm-to-table description of what happens to the pairs that you create and donate to a charity: https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/charity-knitting-makers-hands
Please visit our Making Mittens page for patterns and resources.
What do you do with financial donations?
Your tax-deductible financial donations the purchase of new, warm mittens and gloves. Your donations also support our operational costs.
You can make an online donation by clicking: Donate Online. You will immediately receive a tax receipt.
Donating Mittens? Here's What to Know
Not sure what makes a good donation? Watch our short video, A Hands-On Guide for Choosing Mittens. Quality matters more than quantity — here's what to look for:
Good donations:
- Warm and insulated
- Durable — built to last
- Snug fit, seals out cold
- Wool, fleece, or lined knit/sewn
Avoid:
- Thin, stretchy "one size fits all" gloves
- Slow-drying when wet
- Worn or stretched-out pairs
Doesn't need to be expensive — just warm and durable.
You can mail them to our MAILING address (this is not our office location):
Mittens for Detroit
Attn: W. Shepherd
2886 12 Mile Road, Box 721427, Berkley, MI 48072-0717