giving back

These 6 charities in San Antonio will pick up your donations from home

Save time and money by scheduling a pick-up.

Photo by Hero Images/Getty Images

Update: As of August 2020, The Arc of Texas - San Antonio no longer collects donated goods. This story has been updated to reflect that change.

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Whether the kids have flown from the nest, it's time to move, or it's starting to look like a hoarders situation, hauling items you don't want or need anymore can be a hassle, especially in the summer heat.

But for numerous charities in the area, it's a great opportunity to give someone a helping hand, and they're not just happy to take items off donors' hands, they'll send a truck to the front door, load up the items, and be on their way. It takes just a few clicks to get a San Antonio-area service to come knocking and drive off with a load that otherwise (if one's being honest) would stay right where it is.

Here are six options that will save a lot of time, energy, and, most importantly, money.

Arms of Hope
The Medina-based, Christian organization accepts clothing, furniture, toys, sporting goods, and other items. Schedule a free pick-up here or by calling 877-259-3744.

Boys Auxiliary Thrift Store
The store offers limited appointments for picking up furniture by going here or calling 210-659-1901. Donations must be on the ground floor, and the store doesn't have resources to clean or repair all items, so only new and gently used furniture are encouraged.

Goodwill San Antonio
Set aside antiques, clothing, computers, dishes, furniture, jewelry, office supplies, and more for a scheduled pick-up in San Antonio, Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt, New Braunfels, Marion, or Santa Clara. Being a popular service, it might take the nonprofit a week or two to complete the pick-up. Find a full list here of items Goodwill will and won't accept.

Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio
The nonprofit needs new and used cabinets, doors, windows, carpeting and flooring, building supplies, lighting fixtures, and more. Schedule a pick-up by entering a ZIP code and selecting whether the destination is residential or commercial, and then explain what items need to be collected.

Salvation Army
San Antonio-area residents need only enter their ZIP code here, enter the number and type of items they want to donate, and schedule a pick-up. The Salvation Army Family Stores accept clothes, books, household items, chairs, couches, and miscellaneous things.

The Arc of Texas
This organization supports Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities and accepts vehicle donations.

Vehicle donations
Want to get rid of a car, truck, motorcycle, boat, or RV? Numerous San Antonio-area nonprofits and services are ready to schedule a pick-up, generally regardless of the vehicle's condition. These organizations accept vehicle donations:

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SPARE ART

North San Antonio gets crafty with new creative supplies shop

Photo by Ismael Rodriguez.

Local nonprofit Spare Parts recently opened its brick-and-mortar center for creative reuse.

One local nonprofit organization has spent years getting environmental accountability and community education down to a fine art. And now it’s getting crafty with a new brick-and-mortar shop in North San Antonio aimed to help locals to go green.

Spare Parts was founded in 2010 by executive director and longtime arts educator Mary Elizabeth Cantú to provide a creative spark for area students and schools lacking arts funding and resources. Through a variety of educational programs, public art exhibitions, events, and the organization’s traveling Mini Art Museum, Spare Parts has enlightened thousands of students and San Antonians, all while fostering reuse practices and sustainability, a key tenet of the nonprofit.

Spare Parts’ latest endeavor is another artistic triumph. Its new center for creative reuse, located at 13451 Wetmore Rd., is nothing less than a crafter’s delight. The shop features an impressive array of “pre-loved” and price-reduced artsy merchandise — from paint supplies and paper crafts to sewing items, beading and jewelry, school and office supplies, vintage gadgets, and crafting kits — all of which has been rescued from area landfills.

Cantú notes that proceeds from the new Spare Parts’ shop will enable the organization to further increase creative and educational experiences for San Antonio students and families. But even more so, she hopes the shop will help locals embrace the concept that one person’s trash can be another’s artistic treasure.

“There really isn’t any more room in the world for this stuff. Buying pre-loved at places like Spare Parts or other stores is a way to reduce the amount of things [people] feel that they need,” Cantú said in a recent interview with the San Antonio Sentinel. “We’re challenging people to rethink things around them, buy pre-loved, and find a way to be creative in their lives.”

In the time of COVID-19, however, getting the creative juices flowing isn’t as simple as popping into the Spare Parts shop. Though the center for creative reuse is open, the store is currently offering only weekend curbside pickup of items ordered through its website. But crafters shouldn’t despair, as Spare Parts is offering private in-person shopping experiences in the new year, with the first planned for January 16 and 17.

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