If you are staying, or have recently stayed at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, we offer a delivery service free of charge. Simply reach out to your housing case worker to arrange for an appointment to choose furniture and a time to have it delivered to your new home.

Those who have not recently stayed in our shelter are encouraged to use any names of our list of highly-recommended independent moving companies that regularly assist our program participants, and offer reasonable rates.

Please ensure you have made delivery arrangements with us or a moving company prior to your appointment with the Free Goods Program. We ask that you schedule the movers to pick up your items on the same day as your appointment.

You are welcome to have one individual over the age of 12 accompany you on the showroom floor.  Children under the age of 12 not confined to a stroller or carrier will not be able to come with you on the showroom floor. Our facility is an operating warehouse and can be hazardous for small children. If children under 12 come with you to your appointment, we ask you to bring another responsible adult to take care of them in our waiting room for the duration of your one-hour appointment.

Our furniture showroom is reliant on community donations, so we can’t always guarantee we’ll have everything you’re looking for. If you are unable to find an item you critically need, please speak to a member of our staff and we will be happy to assist as best we can. We ask that program participants limit their use of the Move Out Program to once every six months.

Most of the items in our show room are donated from the public, so the majority are used. However, we do not accept any broken items and we try our best to ensure everything is in good condition before putting them out on the floor.

To make sure there’s enough for everyone, each household may select up to five large furniture items. We ask that you choose five unique items and not duplicates of the same item (such as two dressers). This is to make sure there’s enough for the next person too.

If you have a big family, please let us know when you make an appointment and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Yes, we offer volunteer shifts every day that the Donation Centre is open. Learn more here.

We can give program participants a general idea of the items we make available however we can never guarantee certain items will be in stock. We are limited by what is donated and all items are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We are not able to reserve or set aside items for program participants.

The Move Out Program is in high demand and so we want to serve you as best possible. Please make an appointment to access the Move Out Program.

Case managers can refer their clients to the program, and we accept self-referrals too. We will ask those who self-refer to the program to provide us with proof of income or income status and a copy of their lease agreement.

Yes! We also have the program guidelines printed in over 15 languages and we use translation software to help with language barriers.

Each appointment is one hour long. We ask that you arrive 5-10 minutes prior to your appointment so that we can explain the program guidelines before your appointment begins.

We are open 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. on weekends, and closed on statutory holidays.

We do not require an appointment to drop off donations at our Donation Centre. We do appreciate prior knowledge of large deliveries arriving at our loading docks. If you have a large donation please reach out to us by calling 403-264-0856 prior to arriving.  We discourage leaving any donations outside the building during off-hours.

Please drop off your donation at our Donation Centre, located in Northeast Calgary. Our address is 3640 11a Street NE, which is a two-minute drive from the intersection of Deerfoot Trail and 32nd Avenue NE.

When you arrive, drive to the far end of our parking lot to find our Donation Bay. If the door is not open, just ring the doorbell and our team will be happy to assist you in unloading your vehicle.

We are able to offer pick up service to corporate donors for large donations and individuals who have multiple essential pieces of furniture to donate in Calgary and Airdrie. Please contact our Donation Centre by email at donationcentre@thedi.ca or by phone at 403-264-0856 for more information.

We can provide tax receipts for in-kind donations if we are provided with a copy of the purchase receipt within a timely manner. For questions, please email donations@thedi.ca

We happily accept the following items:

• Furniture in good condition (we can take furniture that has been disassembled as long as it has all screws, bolts, and other hardware. We typically ask for a brief explanation on how to put it back together)
• Mattresses and box springs that are in very good condition (entirely free from stains or tears or other breaks in the fabric)
• Clothing and outerwear in any size
• Boots and shoes
• Hygiene products
• Bedding, towels, and other linens
• Small appliances and electronics
• Dishes and cutlery
• Kitchenware including pots, pans, and can openers
• Housewares
• Framed art, home décor, and vases
• Non-perishable food
• Camping supplies
• Wheelchairs, canes, and crutches

We do not accept the following items:

• Broken, ripped, or stained furniture
• Cribs, car seats, highchairs
• Home renovation materials
• Large appliances (we do accept all countertop appliances)
• Large office furniture
• Large buffets or china cabinets
• Helmets
• Outdoor furniture
• Exercise machines (barbells and free weights are accepted) 

We do not operate a thrift store and do not sell any items that are considered necessities. All essential items are given away for free.

We occasionally have items that are donated that are non-essential and have more monetary value than practical value to our program participants. Items like these may be sold and all funds from sales are re-directed back into our program to purchase essential items for our program participants.

Your donations will be distributed free of charge to low- and no-income individuals in our community through our Free Goods Program. The Free Goods Program is a service offered to our program participants and low-income community members to provide them free of charge with clothing, furniture, and household goods to furnish their homes. We assist Drop-In Centre guests as they transition from the shelter system into permanent housing, and we provide our service to 130 agencies and outreach groups including The Centre for Newcomers, Calgary Urban Projects Society, Alpha House, YYC Be the Change, and The Alex Community Health Centre.

See the full list of agencies here.

Yes! We have a team on hand at our Donation Centre who will be happy to assist you in unloading your vehicle. We have a great deal of experience handling furniture and other heavy or bulky items.

We ask for a ratio of ten youth to one adult when participating as a group.

When volunteering for the first time or as a group, we ask that you arrive at one of our scheduled shift times, 9:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. so we can provide an orientation of the Donation Centre and instructions for performing assigned tasks. We are able to provide a more flexible schedule for experienced or regular volunteers.