Share Our Spare

Share Our Spare Share Our Spare has a mission is to ensure every child in Chicago has the essentials they need to thrive in the first five years of life.
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We collect your "extras" and turn them into the EXTRAordinary for families in need.

We’re proud to partner with ’s Unintentional Injury Prevention Programs at the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy C...
05/29/2026

We’re proud to partner with ’s Unintentional Injury Prevention Programs at the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities to help ensure children and families in the most impacted communities have access to safe sleep resources.

Through this partnership, supports Lurie’s safe sleep education and outreach efforts by procuring essential items, assembling & delivering kits to community-based access points and ambassadors — helping remove barriers for families and extend the impact of this critical work.

This work is especially urgent in Chicago, where Black infants are 14 times more likely to die from sleep-related causes compared to their white counterparts. In Cook County, Latino infants also face a risk 2.5 times higher than the national average, underscoring the importance of expanding access to education, prevention, and safe sleep resources.

We’re proud to play a supporting role through our auxiliary programs, helping partners like Lurie maximize existing funding by leveraging our vendor relationships and warehouse operations to turn resources into as many direct supports for families as possible 💚

Read more about Lurie’s program at https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/news-stories/improving-sleep-safety-through-education-and-trust/

💚✨Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month, Helen Gabrail!✨💚Helen is a Northside Learning Center Special Education ...
05/28/2026

💚✨Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Month, Helen Gabrail!✨💚

Helen is a Northside Learning Center Special Education Teacher who has been working there for 8 years, but she has been with Chicago Public Schools for 30 years!

During the 2025–2026 school year, Helen has generously dedicated 2 hours every Thursday supporting Northside Learning Center’s students while volunteering at Share Our Spare.

📚🧸🍼 Helen loves working with toys, books, formula, and baby clothes here at Share Our Spare.

✨In her spare time, Helen enjoys organizing, cleaning, babysitting, and volunteering at Cradles to Crayons Chicago.

Thank you, Helen, for your heart, dedication, and the incredible impact you make for children and families in our community every week! 💚

05/27/2026

From donation drop-off ➡️ volunteer sorting ➡️ partner shopping 🧸💚

A quick look at how essential items move through the Sharehouse and into the hands of families who need them most.

6 big orders. 20,000+ diapers. 330 families supported.We were proud to host Charles Schwab for a hands-on volunteer sess...
05/21/2026

6 big orders. 20,000+ diapers. 330 families supported.

We were proud to host Charles Schwab for a hands-on volunteer session at the Sharehouse. Together, this incredible team packed essential diaper orders that will be distributed through our network of partner agencies—helping ensure Chicago’s youngest children have what they need to thrive.

Because when the community shows up, real impact happens. 💚

Buckle up those car seats—this is a long (and very deserved) shoutout 💚Volunteer Appreciation Night 2026 was all about c...
05/19/2026

Buckle up those car seats—this is a long (and very deserved) shoutout 💚

Volunteer Appreciation Night 2026 was all about celebrating the incredible humans who show up day after day to make the magic happen at Share Our Spare. From raffles and games to Sweet Baby Ray’s and lots of laughter, Friday, April 24th was a small thank you for a very big impact.

Our volunteers are the reason our partners have a consistent supply of essentials—and why families across Chicago receive high-quality items for their little ones with dignity and care.

✨ Ted, the master of “Tedification™️,” keeping everything organized and partner-focused
✨ Stephanie, packing Family Connects orders with so much heart
✨ Sumaya, our toy maven, sorting and quality-checking thousands of toys
✨ Nailiah & Salimah, all-around superheroes (and Nailiah—the creativity behind our kindness cards!)
✨ Cindy, working her magic on books, clothing, and sustainability—keeping plastic out of landfills
✨ Grace, a gear expert ensuring safety, quality, and connection with donors
✨ Helen & Asogban, bringing energy, joy, and leadership with Northside Learning Center students each week
✨ And Queen Julie 👑 — 7 years, 2,500+ hours, and a legacy of dedication that has shaped so much of what we do.

We truly couldn’t do this without you—and honestly, we wouldn’t want to.

Thank you for being the village. Thank you for showing up for our community’s littlest neighbors. You are the real MVPs.

It’s that time again 🥁 Myths & Misconceptions Monday! 💚While receiving and redistributing baby, postpartum, and caregive...
05/18/2026

It’s that time again 🥁 Myths & Misconceptions Monday! 💚

While receiving and redistributing baby, postpartum, and caregiver essentials is a core part of Share Our Spare’s work, it’s far from all we do.

Our auxiliary programs allow us to support young people and families more directly through community-based item distribution, while initiatives like Munch & Learn and our partner mailing list help connect organizations across Chicago and centralize access to vital social service information.

Through this work, we strive to embody Share Our Spare’s mission and help build a more resilient, connected, and equitable community.

  will be CLOSED Friday, 5/22 through Monday, 5/25 for Memorial Day Weekend. We will not be accepting donations during t...
05/15/2026

will be CLOSED Friday, 5/22 through Monday, 5/25 for Memorial Day Weekend. We will not be accepting donations during that time. Please do not leave items in common areas.

If you have questions please email us at [email protected]. We look forward to getting back to you when we come back on Tuesday, 5/26!

We hope you all enjoy the weekend!

We want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out and supported our events at Veronica Beard Chicago and Plaza...
05/14/2026

We want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out and supported our events at Veronica Beard Chicago and Plaza del Lago this Mother’s Day weekend!

To our hosts, store management, shoppers, and all supporters— we appreciate you more than we can say. We hope that you got to treat yourself or someone special in your life to a gift that gives back!

And if you weren’t able to make it out– don’t worry! You can visit either the Chicago or Wilmette Veronica Beard location until May 27th and mention Share Our Spare to get us that 15%. You can also call the store to order!

Each month the essentials we provide to our partners help support the health and development of ~35,000 Chicago area chi...
05/12/2026

Each month the essentials we provide to our partners help support the health and development of ~35,000 Chicago area children ages 0-5. As a result, we help lay the foundation for a resilient and equitable community.

Want to get involved? Check out www.shareourspare.org for volunteering and other opportunities to engage!

05/10/2026

💐Happy Mother's Day 💐

To cap off our week of tributes, Board Member Christa Chavez Martay takes the chance to brag about her mom and how she’s taught her invaluable lessons about kindness and inclusivity, lessons she is now passing down to her own daughter.

We’re getting closer and closer to our goal of raising $5,000 as we close out this special week celebrating mothers and maternal figures everywhere. 💚

Make a gift at the link below to help caregivers across Chicagoland access the essential resources they need to care for their children with confidence and dignity.

🔗 https://shareourspare.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/mothers-day-2026

Address

3800 N Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL
60641

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+17736573117

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