Thank you for supporting YWCA women and families this holiday season! On this page you’ll find everything you need to know to support our 2025 Thanksgiving Days and Gift Giving Programs.
Our families receive gift cards so they can purchase culturally responsive foods for their holidays and gifts that best meet their families’ needs. This year's gift card amounts reflect the current cost for food, gas, and other items.
For Thanksgiving, we are requesting grocery store gift cards in $75 increments that will be given out to families before the holiday so they can celebrate with their own traditional dishes and foods their family loves. Each $75 received provides a meal for a small family. Gift cards received will be distributed to families in our shelters across King and Snohomish Counties. Preferred cards are Safeway, QFC/Fred Meyer and Walmart. Please include activation codes with your gift cards.
To register for donating to Thanksgiving Days, please complete this form.
Please register and drop off/mail cards to arrive by Friday, November 7th. You can drop off gift cards at our Phillis Wheatley Branch (2820 East Cherry Street, Seattle, WA 98122) from 9 AM to 5 PM on the following dates:
- Wednesday, November 5, 2025
- Thursday, November 6, 2025
If you’re unable to make it on those dates or drop off at this location, please mail gift cards to:
YWCA Phillis Wheatley Branch
ATTN: Lori Bugaj, Thanksgiving Days
2820 E Cherry St
Seattle, WA 98122
Please have gift cards dropped off or postmarked by November 7th – we want to allow plenty of time for our families to go to the grocery store before the holiday!
For YWCA’s Gift Giving Program, we are requesting the following:
- A $150 gift card for groceries for the head of the household
- Two $75 gift cards for each child to the two stores of their choice (total of $150/child)
Please register no later than November 24th and drop off/mail cards by December 8th.
When you register, we will match you with a family. Family matches will begin mid to late November, as soon as family information and requests are available. It may take a little time to get you matched, but know that we have families waiting for help. Any additional gift cards provided will be used to help any unmatched families. Thank you in advance for your patience!
To register for Winter Gift Giving for both King and Snohomish Counties, please complete this form.
Once matched, you’ll receive information about the family(ies) including names, ages, interests, and their store gift card requests. If you are unable to support a family, but still want to help, you can drop off or mail gift cards to the addresses below. Preferred cards are Target, Fred Meyer and Walmart, and individual gift cards will be combined to give to unmatched families. Please write the amount of the gift card on each card and include activation codes (or pins for printed digital gift cards) with your donation.
King County donors can drop off gift cards at our Phillis Wheatley Branch (2820 East Cherry Street, Seattle, WA 98122) from 9 AM to 5 PM on the following dates:
- Wednesday, December 3, 2025
- Thursday, December 4, 2025
- Friday, December 5, 2025
Snohomish County donors can drop off gift cards from 9 AM to 5 PM on the following dates and locations:
- Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at the Everett Regional Center (3301 Broadway, Everett, WA 98201)
- Thursday, December 4, 2025 at the Pathways for Women Shelter (6027 208th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036)
- Friday, December 5, 2025 at the Pathways for Women Shelter (6027 208th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036)
If you’re unable to make it on those dates, please mail gift cards to:
YWCA Phillis Wheatley Branch
ATTN: Lori Bugaj, Gift Giving
2820 E Cherry St
Seattle, WA 98122
Please have gift cards dropped off or postmarked to be received by December 8th – we want to allow plenty of time for our families to purchase their holiday gifts. Winter Giving Program FAQs can be found below.
If you have any questions about Winter Gift Giving programs, please email kingcogiving@ywcaworks.org.
Thank you to everyone who supported our School Days Drive this year! With your generous contributions, approximately 900 kids were given either gift cards or backpacks filled with supplies. Special thanks to the Seattle Times, Epiphany Church, Amazon, Comcast, Bertschi School, Nestle, and Redapt for providing the kids in our shelters the gift of brand new backpacks and school supplies.
For individuals and/or organization who want to host a drive for YWCA, we now have a “Host a Drive” sign up form on our Volunteer page where you can sign up to host the drive of your choice. We’ll send you a list of the items we need along with a link to our Amazon wishlist and instructions.
When you host a drive for YWCA, your donation directly impacts the lives of the women and families in our emergency housing programs. Every donation helps a family feel more welcome in their home and fills a genuine need. Look below and select a category to see what is needed, then fill out our “Host a Drive” form above and we will contact you with more information.
Full-sized personal care products for families in our programs. We especially need items that are ethnically diverse and focus on Black/African American women (e.g., sulfate-free, paraben-free, moisturizing). We will accept some travel-sized items for our homeless women’s shelter but prefer full-sized items that are more eco-friendly and can be used by a family.
Shop our Personal Care/Hygiene wish list here!
- Shampoo – sulfate-free, paraben-free
- Leave-in conditioners and moisturizers
- Body wash & bar soap
- Body lotion
- Combs and brushes
- Women’s and men’s deodorant
- Combing and curl cremes
- Scalp and hair oils and butters
- Edge control gels and hair tools
- Satin-lined bonnets, headbands & pillowcases
- Razors & shaving gels/cremes
- Toothbrushes & toothpaste
- Personal care tools – nail clippers, tweezers
- Feminine hygiene products
- First aid kits and Band-Aids
Families come into our programs needing the most basic household items. We use your donations to furnish units and create a warm, welcoming space where families can thrive. We accept new and gently used items, but please no stains, tears, broken or non-working items.
Shop our Kitchen and Household wish list here!
- Twin/full sheet sets, bedspreads, comforters & blankets
- Towels – bath & kitchen
- Flatware
- Mugs, glasses, dishes & bowls
- Can openers & kitchen utensils
- Pots, pans & baking sheets
- Small appliances – microwaves, toasters & coffee pots
- Lamps, small trashcans & laundry baskets
- Cutting boards & mixing bowls
It takes a lot of paper products, cleaning supplies, and tools to keep a home clean. You can help our families by filling a laundry basket or storage bin with items to help keep their units tidy and comfortable. For cleaning supplies, we ask for new or almost new items.
Shop our Cleaning and Paper Products wish list here!
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- Laundry detergent, laundry baskets & clothes drying racks
- Dish soap & hand soap
- Sponges, gloves & cleaning cloths
- Mops, brooms, dustpans & buckets
- Kitchen and bath trashcans & garbage bags
- Cleaning products – disinfectants, window, bleach
- Toilet brush & plunger
- Small vacuums
YWCA Central Area Food Bank provides weekly bags of food to 325+ food-insecure households in Central & South Seattle, and the need continues to grow. Every Wednesday, 80+ volunteers pack and distribute over 6,000 lbs. of food. Much of our food comes from institutional and government donors like Food Lifeline, NW Harvest, and the USDA. We also rely heavily on our community for assistance – for both food and volunteers.
Please, no expired foods, opened containers, or glass jars.
Link to our food needs here!
- $25 and $50 gift cards to Safeway, Kroger/Fred Meyer, or Grocery Outlet
- Canned soup, stew & chili
- White rice
- Tuna and canned chicken
- Top ramen, pasta & canned pasta sauce
- Crackers & kid-friendly snacks
- Peanut butter, jelly, syrup & honey
- Condiments – ketchup, mayo & mustard
- Cooking oil
- Soy sauce
- Salt & pepper sets
- Sugar
- Seasonings, spices and herbs
- Ground, caffeinated coffee
- Can openers & pop-top foods for unhoused clients
YWCA provides after-school and summer programs for children in our emergency shelters as well as Passage Point, our supportive housing program for post-incarcerated individuals re-unifying with their children. We also offer Parent Child+, which is an educational home-visiting program for families with very young children. We are hoping to create memorable, interactive events for these children and increase access to opportunities they might otherwise not be able to participate in or experience.
Please, no baseball bats or play weapons.
Shop our Children’s Program wish list here!
- Tickets/entrance to events, museums, attractions & activities
- Arts & crafts kits/supplies
- Sports balls & small sports equipment
- Water fun – swimwear, beach towels & toys, sunscreen
- Movie tickets & gift cards
- Outdoor games
- Bike locks & new helmets
YWCA celebrates each Spring with goodie-filled bags/baskets for children and Mother’s Day tote bags filled with full-sized personal care products for women in our programs.
Shop our Spring Goodie Bag/Basket wish list here!
- Reusable bag or bucket
- Chocolate bunny
- Few pieces of candy
- Small toys or stuffed animal
- Art supplies – crayons or markers, coloring/activity books
- Learning games
Shop our Mother’s Day tote bag wish list here!
- Reusable tote bag
- Shampoo & conditioner
- Lotion
- Body wash/bar soap
- Deodorant, razor & shave gel
- Comb or brush
- Beauty products – eye mask, lip balm, hair bands
- Beauty tool – nail clippers or nail file
- Journal & pen
When school is out, the kids in our programs are looking for things to do. Please consider donating the following types of items to help keep kids busy and engaged this summer:
Shop our Children’s Program wish list here!
- $25 gas gift cards – For families to go and enjoy the outdoors
- Sports balls & equipment – Basketballs, footballs, baseballs, volley, soccer & tennis balls (Please NO baseball bats).
- Arts & craft kits/supplies
- Tickets or passes to games, events & attractions
- Water fun – Sunscreen, beach balls, beach towels & sand toys
As summer ends, families frantically shop for backpacks, school supplies, and new clothing as their students prepare to return to school. For families living in our YWCA emergency shelters, the needs are the same but getting these items is much more difficult.
YWCA is collecting donations and Fred Meyer/Kroger, Walmart, or Target gift cards to support the elementary, middle, and high school students in our programs across King and Snohomish counties.
And the need isn’t just in September —families move into emergency housing and out to more permanent supportive housing throughout the year, which means the start at a new school for some students is after school officially begins.
Shop our Back-to-School wish list here!
- $100 gift cards - to Target, Walmart & Fred Meyer/Kroger so that kids can pick out exactly the backpack they want and the supplies they need.
- Backpacks - 15" - 17" sizes
- Pencil pouch
- Pink Pearl erasers
- Glue sticks
- Pencil sharpeners
- 12-pack #2 pencils
- 24-pack crayons
- 12-pack colored pencils
- Rulers
- Wide-ruled spiral notebooks
- 5" blunt (kid) scissors
- Lined paper 3-hole punch
- Pocket folders
- Dry erase markers
- Sharpie permanent markers
To celebrate Thanksgiving and the Winter holidays, YWCA provides families in our Emergency Shelters grocery gift cards so families can celebrate with their own traditional dishes and foods they love, and store gift cards for each child, letting families experience the joy of choosing special gifts for their children.
When you host a drive for gift cards, we ask donors to write the amount of the gift card on the physical card itself. We can also provide you with physical or electronic gift card donation forms for individuals to fill out when they drop off their gift card donations to you.
Thanksgiving and Holiday gift cards
- Target gift cards - from $25 to $150
- Walmart gift cards - from $25 to $150
- Safeway/Albertson’s gift cards - from $25 to $150
- Fred Meyer/Kroger gift cards - from $25 to $150
Winters are especially cold and damp in our area when you can’t afford the right kind of outerwear. We especially need women’s items for our Angeline’s Day Shelter for Women but can also use men’s and children’s items for families in our programs.
Gently used items with no rips or stains are welcome.
Shop our Winter Warmth wish list here!
- Women’s, men’s & kid’s winter coats
- Adult & kid’s gloves
- Women’s, men’s & kid’s warm socks
- Adult & kid’s winter hats
- Scarves
- Hand & toe warmers
- Warm polar fleece or emergency blankets
- Boots & winter weather shoes
- Lotion, lip balms & tissue packs
- Weather-resistant tote & cinch bags
