October Container Drive

Salaam Cultural Museum will be sending a container of supplies to Jordan in early October. The exact date has not been set yet but will be posted as soon as we have it. We are aiming for the first week in October. We will be filling the container with warm winter clothing, school supplies and medical supplies.

How you can help us fill the container:

Please bring or send your donations to our office at 3806 Whitman Ave. N, Seattle WA 98103

CLOTHING: We need winter clothing for all ages. No shoes. Please consider new socks and undergarments, warm sweaters and shirts, pants, leggings, coats. Please have all clothes clean and folded and in good repair, and put them in a heavy duty plastic storage bin. You can also include clean blankets or quilts. Place a list on the top of the clothes before you put the lid on.  We will not be accepting items in plastic garbage bags for this container due to logistical constraints.

TOYS: We will take new in the package toys or close to new toys to give to the children as gifts. If the toy is used please make sure it is clean and all pieces are there. Please do not include any toys that promote or depict violence or are war related (toy guns, tanks, planes, etc). Also, we cannot accept toys with batteries in them – remove the batteries and send them in a plastic baggie.

BACKPACKS: School supplies are in need for the refugee children. Getting the children back to school is very important to their ability to cope. It adds a spot of normalcy in an otherwise completely upended life. To help them, we want to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for children ages 5 and up. You can donate a backpack filled with the following items and send it to our office for inclusion in the container:

• Notebooks
• Pencils and pens
• Pencil sharpener and erasers
• Pencil bag
• Notebooks
• Crayons (no more than a 24 pack)
• Coloring books
• Puzzles and other brain games

HYGIENE KITS: You can also put together kits containing tooth brushes, toothpaste, small travel size soap and hand sanitizer, mirror, washcloth, hair brush. You can make bags for boys and girls, by adding specific items like hair clips, nail polish, hair bands etc. for girls and things like stickers, temporary tattoos, etc for boys.

MEDICATIONS/MEDICAL EQUIPMENT: We are still collecting medical equipment and non-narcotic/OTC medications, just be sure that any pills do not contain gelatin. The medical supplies will be packed separately from the clothes and blankets so please do not put them in the plastic bins. Crutches, wheelchairs (especially for children), walkers, and other mobility devices are needed as well.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: We have a music program at the Malki-SCM Children’s Center and they are in need of small instruments. Anything is great, but please, if the instrument is such that it requires a case for transport (like a violin) please include the case. If there is no case for the instrument, the chances are that it will be ruined during shipping.