Donate toys and games

By donating toys or games to Great Ormond Street Charity you are supporting the hospital’s urgent needs and enabling us to provide life-changing care for young patients and their families.

The best gift you can give Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is a donation. This extraordinary hospital has always depended on charitable support to give seriously ill children the best chance to fulfil their potential.

GOSH Charity raises money to support the hospital’s urgent needs and enable them to provide life-changing care for its young patients and their families by:

• Contributing to the rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital
• Supporting ground-breaking research into the development of new treatments
• Funding the most up-to-date equipment
• Providing vital support services for children and their families, like accommodation close by the hospital or the Play team

If you would prefer to donate a gift to the children at the hospital, please see below for a handy guide that the hospital’s Play team has put together. The list consists of toys, games and presents that the seriously ill children and young people cared for at GOSH always appreciate.

Please note the following:

• due to strict infection control measures in place at the hospital, we cannot accept any gifts in person at the hospital
• we are only able to accept items that are brand new and in their original packaging
• we are unable to accept any used or second-hand items, (including toys, games and clothing), books, soft toys or knitted items or anything that has been made at home

Vouchers and gifts are accepted in person or via the post at the GOSH Charity offices. Please advise us if you intend to visit in person so that we can arrange a time between Monday and Friday, 9:30am-4pm.

Due to strict infection control measures in place at the hospital, we cannot accept any gifts in person at the hospital. Vouchers and gifts are accepted in person or via the post at the GOSH Charity offices. Please advise us if you intend to visit in person so that we can arrange a time between Monday and Friday, 9:30am-4pm.

Gifts in Kind

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity

Second Floor

40 Bernard Street

London

WC1N 1LE

You can reach GOSH Charity’s Gift in Kind team by emailing giftsinkind@gosh.org or calling 020 3841 3841.

Any gifts you donate will be distributed across the wards and different areas in the hospital, as and where they are most needed.

Items that cannot be used by our patients may be used for fundraising or passed to another children’s hospital.

As a guide, please see below for the Play team’s wish list of toys and games that the children at GOSH make the most use of.

• board/card games e.g. Guess Who, Uno, Dobble, Connect 4, Frustration
• arts and crafts kits e.g. paints, Play-Doh and stickers
• toy cars and planes
• construction toys like Lego and Playmobil
• dolls

• mobiles and musical mobiles 
• jigsaws and peg puzzles 
• toys and sensory items to stimulate the senses 
• developmental toys e.g. stacking cups and blocks 
• musical toys, including rattles

• nail art kits
• stationery sets
• jewellery making kits
• toiletries and pamper items including body spray, hair and body wash, bath bombs for boys and girls (must be for sensitive skin)
• games

• pyjamas for all ages, which must be brand new with tags
• blankets
• duvet sets
• weighted blankets
• colouring sets
• headphones
• ear defenders
• balloons
• gift wrap

• any used or second-hand items, including toys, games and clothing
• knitted clothes or toys or anything that has been made at home
• over-sized soft toys
• large mechanical or motorised toys
• used magazines

Another way you can show your support is to buy vouchers that the hospital’s expert Play team can use to purchase the items, toys and gifts that the children most need. These could include sensory items for children, items to help with their recovery, toys and games for younger children as well as gifts and toiletries for some of our older patients.

We accept gift vouchers from:

• The Entertainer
• Smyths Toy Shop
• Superdrug
• Boots
• Argos
• Early Learning Centre
• Amazon

• Don’t forget the age group you’re donating to is 0-18 years (teenagers are often forgotten).
• If you donate chocolate, make sure the ingredients are on the packet as we have to be careful with allergies.
• Please do not wrap the gifts. Due to infection control measures, we have to unwrap all gifts before giving them to the children. We are happy to accept gift wrap separately so we can wrap gifts ourselves.
• Unfortunately, we are unable to pay for the cost of collecting your gifts or delivering them to the hospital.