Charity Sample Item Lists
Team Builders Plus is excited to bring our SmileKits program to your organization. We’ve compiled a sample list of items to give your team an idea of the meaningful impact you’ll make and the types of items commonly requested by charitable partners.
For your event, we’ll work directly with your selected organization to customize the requested items based on their specific needs and preferences. Team Builders Plus handles all the planning, coordination, purchasing, and organization of the items, making the entire experience seamless so your team can focus on giving back.
Sample List for Children’s Hospital
(items vary depending on what the charity needs and availability)
Sample List for Military Troops
Food and drink
- Powdered drink mix. Your service member will appreciate anything that can be mixed with water. In cold months, send hot beverage mixes such as cocoa, instant coffee, tea bags, and creamer. During warmer months, sweetened drink mixes such as lemonade and iced tea will be welcome.
- Ramen noodles, seasoned salt, individual packets of hot sauce, mustard, relish, and ketchup.
- Quick protein. Energy bars, tuna fish, sardines, non-perishable beef jerky, or beef summer sausage. Make sure the meat is labeled USDA Beef.
- Snacks: Look for small, hard containers of chips, pretzels, and nuts. These are easier to carry than large containers. Avoid bags, which may burst under high pressure. If you do send large bags or containers, include small zipper-lock bags so your service member can pack smaller amounts of snacks to carry. Snack cakes, cheese crackers, and cookies are in high demand. Salty snacks are good for those deployed in the desert, especially in the summer months, because they will encourage your service member to drink more water.
- Candy and gum. Avoid chocolate if your service member is in a warm climate. It will melt in the heat. Gum and other types of candy may soften and become gooey, so send these in plastic zipper-lock bags. Send plenty of extras for your service member to share, especially if he or she comes into contact with children.
Personal care and clothing
- Choose small, travel-size containers of personal care products, and avoid aerosol cans. To keep liquids from spilling, cover the opening of the container with plastic wrap, then recap before shipping.
- Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, cotton swabs, shaving lotion, disposable razors, shampoo, individually packaged tissues.
- Personal care: Individually packaged baby wipes, eye drops, lip balm, lotion, aspirin or other pain reliever, feminine hygiene products for women.
- Foot care: Moleskin, medicated foot powder, athlete’s-foot ointment.2 l What to Send Someone Who is Deployed
- Disposable hand warmers: Send these during the winter if your service member is in a cold climate.
- Goggle-style sunglasses: Your service member will appreciate these if he or she is deployed in the desert.
- Cotton socks and underwear: Make sure the garments are made of 100 percent cotton rather than a cotton blend.
- Fingerless gloves, stocking caps, long underwear, if the climate is cold
- Flea Collars for ankles
Entertainment and communication
- Reading material. Paperback books, current magazines, comic books.
- Word games and puzzles: Crossword puzzles, word searches, jigsaw puzzles.
- Games: Foam footballs and basketballs, Frisbees, Hacky Sacks, playing cards, yo-yos.
- Electronics: Portable DVD player, CD player, DVDs, CDs, handheld electronic games.
- Batteries: Size AA and D batteries are in high demand. If you’re sending a battery-operated device, such as a CD player, remove the batteries so the appliance doesn’t accidentally turn on during shipment.
- Disposable camera
- Writing material: Notepaper, envelopes, pens, pencils, and stamps.
- Phone cards: Shop around to get the best deal on overseas minutes.
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