We are always impressed by the thoughtfulness of the donations to CRiTiCALL. Nearly everyone wants to know what is most needed or what they can do to ensure their donation goes as far as possible. Here are a few tips on how to choose items for donation:

• Think in terms of sets or kits.

  It’s always more useful when things come together, whether it’s a duvet with the duvet covers, or a toothbrush with toothpaste. However big or small your donation it’s useful to try and make it as ‘complete’ as possible.

• Home starter and hygiene items are always, always in need.

  Imagine walking into an empty house: what would you need to make it livable? There’s a lot that goes into our daily routines!

• Leave the used clothes at home.

  We’ve all done a closet clean-out during lockdown, but having looked at the logistics and talked to the refuges, it’s just not realistic for us to give used clothes to their clients. Sizes and styles are too varied and personal, and we don’t have much storage space. Bringing your clothes to a charity shop will give them a second life in service of a good cause much quicker and with less headache.

• Consider giving a voucher.

  We all like to be able to buy exactly what we want. Victims of coercive control have often lacked that ability in more ways than one. Some items – like underwear – simply have to be bought new by the person who’s going to use them, and a voucher makes that possible in a dignified and empowered way.

• Don’t forget the children.

  Domestic violence affects families of all sizes and children of all ages, from babies to teens. Consider picking up some kid- or teen-appropriate toiletries or bedding along with more ‘grown-up’ products. A voucher for a toy store would also be ideal; we can probably all remember how particular we were about ‘just the right toy’ as kids, and it’s an invaluable gift to enable a mother to give her child a birthday present.

• Can we keep the bag?

  You can drop off your items in whatever is most convenient, whether that’s a box or a bin bag – but if you can put them in a ‘bag for life’ type grocery bag, we’ll reuse it for making the delivery! Thanks for taking part in CRiTiCALL, feel free to contact us at covid19@volunteerdublincity.ie if you have other questions.

Dublin City Volunteer Centre has teamed up with Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Safe Ireland, The Iveagh Trust and other volunteer centres around Ireland to create CRiTiCALL – an initiative to support people emerging from domestic abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic.