Opportunity House, the foremost homeless shelter in Berks County, PA, welcomes donation drop-off of new items for emergency use at the shelter itself. We also welcome gently used items for the OppShop thrift store at the donation center behind the store or in several drop-off bins throughout the county. We rely on help from generous citizens such as yourself to continue helping the homeless population in our community.
Who We Are
Opportunity House is a shelter dedicated to helping the homeless community in the area. Established in 1984, we offer the following:
- Emergency shelter for homeless men, women, and children
- Access to shower and laundry facilities,
- Welcome kits with basic needs of self-care and hygiene,
- Three meals and a snack each day
- Transitional and permanent housing with ongoing support
- Early childhood education through the Second Street Learning Center
- A reuse/recycle program through OppShop, our retail thrift store, and our distribution warehouse.
Donations of All Types Welcomed
Pursuing the mission of Opportunity House requires resources from all directions. We welcome monetary donations from individuals, companies, and organizations and hold fundraisers throughout the year. In addition to financial giving, we welcome your gift of items or time.
Items for the Emergency Shelter
The items we need most urgently at Opportunity House are frequently used. We serve more than 500 members of the homeless population annually, providing much more than shelter. We also offer case management, counseling; access to medical, mental health, and addiction services; help to secure ID, job training, education; and more.
When clients arrive at Opportunity House, they need items for basic care. We accept donations of new items for this purpose:
- Underwear and socks for men and women
- Sports bras
- Toiletries including shampoo, conditioner, and soap; toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss; lotions; feminine hygiene products; and bladder control products
- Laundry products
- Cold weather items like coats/jackets, caps, gloves, sweatshirts, sweatpants, yoga pants, etc.
- Baby items, including diapers, wipes, and bottles
- Bottled water
Items for OppShop
The retail thrift store we operate, OppShop, benefits the community, the environment, and the shelter. The program relies on generous donations of gently used items. If you’d like to donate, please consider the quality of the items. We can’t accept dirty, stained, ripped, or otherwise unsaleable products. Any items that don’t sell at the thrift store are then recycled through our warehouse’s relationships with recycling companies nationwide.
We appreciate donations of clothing, shoes, purses, accessories, jewelry, household goods, furnishings, books, media, and holiday items. Drop them off at one of the donation bins or the donation center behind the thrift store. You may arrange for pickup if you have large pieces of furniture to donate.
Volunteering Your Time
We welcome volunteers in various roles if you’d like to donate time.
A few of these opportunities include:
- Souper Bowl
- Wine, Women, and Shoes
- Annual Golf Event
- Meal Preparation and Service
- Community Garden Harvest
- Client Welcome Kits
- Day of Service
The Opportunity House homeless shelter welcomes your donation. Please drop off your gently used items at the Opp Shop thrift store or one of our bins, or drop off new items for the shelter at the shelter itself. You may also drop off a financial donation at the shelter, mail a check, or click here to donate online.
