Support Us
Donation Drop-Off Locations
Four locations in and around Athol keep a Bestowing the Basics collection bin. Fill a bag, drop it off, and it goes straight onto the distribution tables.
No appointment needed. Just leave it in the bin.
How It Works
Where to Bring Your Donation
Each of these businesses and agencies hosts a collection bin for us on their own floor space, at no charge. Our volunteers empty them on a regular rotation and sort everything for the next distribution event or food bank run.
Please bring items that are unopened and in date. If you are not sure whether we can use something, bring it anyway and we will find a home for it.
The Four Bins
Collection Locations
Resource Center
Our home base for outreach. The Resource Center hosts our Supplying the Basics distribution event every Tuesday and keeps a collection bin year-round.
Resource Center Hours are Tuesdays from 10am to 2pm.
Athol P1FCU
Our local credit union branch keeps a bin in the lobby. You can also make a financial deposit directly to our account at any P1FCU branch while you are there.
Athol Community Center
Most of our outreach events happen here, and the Center keeps a collection bin for us year-round.
Community Center hours are Monday to Thursday, 9 AM to 4:30 PM, and Friday, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
The ABC Food Bank also operates here on Tuesdays, 9 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 3 PM.
Farragut State Park Visitors Center
Convenient if you are already heading into the park. The Visitors Center keeps a bin for us near the entrance.
Hours vary by location — please check with the business before making a special trip. If a bin is full, leave your donation beside it or call us at (208) 561-5050 and we will come out.
Other Options
Cannot Get to a Bin?
Mail It to Us
Bestowing the Basics
Post Office Box 791
Athol, Idaho 83801
Arrange a Pickup
Large donation, a full collection drive, or a business surplus? Call us and we will come and collect it.
Stock the Careywood Pantry
Our free community pantry beside the Careywood Fire Station is open 24/7. You can put shelf-stable items straight in, any time.
Give Financially
Cash lets us buy exactly what is short that month, and buy it on sale.
The Needs List
What We Are Usually Short On
Federal and state assistance will not pay for most of what is on this list, and most food banks receive no funding for it either. That is exactly why we collect it.
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- Shampoo & conditioner
- Body wash & soap
- Deodorant
- Toothpaste & toothbrushes
- Laundry soap
- Dish soap
- Diapers & wipes
- Feminine hygiene
- OTC medicine
- Cleaning supplies
- Pet food
- Travel-size amenities
- New underwear
Please do not throw out hotel and travel-size products. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, toothpaste, and toothbrushes all go straight into the hygiene carts we place in north Idaho middle and high schools. We will absolutely use them.
Tax Receipts
Getting a Receipt
Bestowing the Basics is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Our EIN is 88-0553784, and donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
If you would like a receipt for an in-kind donation, email beth@bestowingthebasics.org with a short description of what you dropped off and where.
Thank You for Dropping By
Every bag in every bin turns into something a family in north Idaho did not have to go without.
Questions? Call us at (208) 561-5050