611 Collective

10/07/2026

Today was our first day of shopping since August, and you all really showed up!

Our volunteers have been working tirelessly to sort, organize, and get through all of the items you’ve dropped off, and we’re not done yet. Your support has also allowed us to purchase much-needed organization and storage solutions to help us make better use of the space we have.

Because of your generous donations, we’ve already been able to provide 65 essential items to families during the month of October.

Please keep the pantry and essentials items coming. We have 70 more shopping spots and many, many more volunteers coming through our doors.

September was strong. Let’s keep that momentum going so we’re not scrambling to make it through each month. Right now, we’re still living month to month, and the more consistently we can stock the store and support our programs, the more prepared we can be for what comes next.

We’re closed for the long weekend and will be back next week.

In the meantime, check the website for:
• Drop-off times
• Current needs lists
• Shopping sign-ups
• Volunteer opportunities

There are lots of ways to show up for 611, and we’ve got plenty of opportunities waiting for you.

Thank you for keeping this thing moving.

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10/06/2026

Piece of Work is fun night is inspired by every single 611 friend that has brought us a puzzle, shopped for a puzzle or asked us about puzzles!! You know who you are, and you are one of the many!

A 611 Puzzle Night, Puzzle Exchange & Fundraiser

Dinner. Drinks. Puzzles. Sabotage.

Friday, October 23rd | 6:00-9:00pm

Piece of Work is a competitive puzzle night where you’ll eat, drink, trade puzzles, race to finish, and spend a little money making someone else’s night harder.

Your $25 ticket includes dinner, drinks, the puzzle exchange, the puzzle race, and $10 in sabotage credits. Bring one puzzle and leave with two.

Want more chaos? Purchase additional sabotage credits ahead of time. The sabotage menu is stacked with ways to slow down the competition, mess with their strategy, and generally make things more difficult.

All proceeds benefit 611 Collective.

Visit https://www.our611.org/611events to purchase tickets

Find upcoming events, fundraisers, dinners, gatherings, and other things happening at 611 Collective in Evanston, Illinois.

10/06/2026

A 611 Puzzle Night, Puzzle Exchange & Fundraiser

Dinner. Drinks. Puzzles. Sabotage.

Friday, October 23rd | 6:00-9:00pm

Piece of Work is a competitive puzzle night where you’ll eat, drink, trade puzzles, race to finish, and spend a little money making someone else’s night harder.

Your $25 ticket includes dinner, drinks, the puzzle exchange, the puzzle race, and $10 in sabotage credits. Bring one puzzle and leave with two.

Want more chaos? Purchase additional sabotage credits ahead of time. The sabotage menu is stacked with ways to slow down the competition, mess with their strategy, and generally make things more difficult.

All proceeds benefit 611 Collective.

Visit www.our611.org to purchase tickets

10/03/2026

The shopping appointments are now open to the public! If you'd like shop more often, please signup to volunteer.

Visit www.Our611.org at noon to reserve your shopping appointment.

We'll see you soon!

10/03/2026

Good morning, 611 friends!

Today is drop-off day, and we’re here until 5 PM!

A few quick updates on what we can and can’t accept right now.

We could use:

1. Shampoo
2. Conditioner
3. Baby-safe soap
4. Personal products- makeup, hair styling, face, body
5. Paper plates
6. Window cleaner

Please do NOT drop off:

1. Summer clothing
2. Used underwear or socks
3. Winter items. We’re not quite ready for winter intake yet
4. Used, expired, or opened food, toiletries, or cleaning products
5. Promotional swag- camp shirts, marathon swag, or items from events that have already passed
6. Used potties, baby bottles, pacifiers, mucus removers, thermometers
7. Medical equipment
8. Used nail clippers, files, and scissors, hair brushes, combs
8. Broken, missing pieces, stained, frayed or smelly items

There are lots of other places that may be able to take some of these items, so please check before bringing them to 611.

Please also remember that people shopping at a Free Store may not have access to laundry facilities or the ability to make repairs. We understand that “new” and “like new” are subjective, and we absolutely make room for different interpretations of those terms.

But broken items, missing pieces, expired items, and opened products that aren't usable are different. Bringing those items to 611 for us to dispose of is considered dumping.

If your goal is to keep things out of the landfill, dumping them at 611 doesn't accomplish that. We don't have trash service, so we have to use valuable space to store unusable items until a volunteer is available to haul them away.

We know that most people who donate to 611 are trying to help, and we are genuinely grateful for that. Thank you for taking a moment to check what we can use before you drop off. It makes a huge difference in how we use our limited space and volunteer time, and it helps us get more good stuff into the hands of the people shopping with us.

We appreciate you helping us keep 611 useful, welcoming, and stocked with things people can actually use.

10/02/2026

Volunteering at 611 is part of our mutual aid model, and four volunteer roles include access to shop the free store.

Choose the role that works best for you:

- Haul Away: 15 minutes
- Store Care: 2 hours
- Sorting: 2 hours
- Shopping Volunteer: 2.5 hours

Want to make the most of your time? Volunteer during your shopping appointment and get your volunteer hours in while you’re already here.

Learn more by visiting our website www.our611.org

10/02/2026

Never shopped at 611?! We reserved a shopping slot for you!

Saturday October 17th, 3:00-3:45pm is exclusively for households that have never shopped our store. The New Shopper sign up is now open, please visit our website to learn more www.our611.org

If one of our other dates and times works better for you, that's no problem! New Shoppers can sign up for one of those appointments. Regular shopping appointment sign up will open tomorrow at 3pm.

10/02/2026

Hey friends we still have lots of volunteer shopping opportunities open for the month of October! Sign up to volunteer and receive early access to the shopping sign up.

Shopping Appointment sign up will open to the public once we have enough volunteer spots open. In order to take advantage of early access, your shop appointment must be during or after your volunteer shift.

Sign up and learn more at www.our611.org

10/01/2026

SEPTEMBER → OCTOBER

September gave us a strong start to October.

We received 70 monetary donations and 845 pantry + essentials items from people who wanted to help stock 611.

Now, 80 shopping families will walk through our doors in October, each able to choose 4 essentials + food.

We also have over 70 volunteer spots available, and qualifying volunteers can shop and choose 4 essentials.

That means 600+ high-need essentials can leave 611 this month.

In a typical month, about 50 households ask for laundry detergent, toilet paper or paper towels.

So this is what a strong start looks like.

Now we want to do it again in November. And December. And every month after that.

Please keep bringing us the essentials and pantry items on our needs list. We want to keep 611 stocked and have enough on hand that we’re not scrambling every month when something runs low.

And if you want to help in other ways:

Contribute $6.11 every month to join the $6.11 for 611 crew.

Sign up for Leadership. Get involved as a teen. Watch for 611 Social. Organize an essentials or pantry drive.

September stocked us up.
Let’s keep it going!

10/01/2026

A little note from 611.

Thank you to everyone who took a few minutes to leave 611 a Google review. We’ve been reading them, and they have genuinely meant a lot.

There’s something special about seeing 611 described through the eyes of the people who shop, volunteer, donate, and spend time here. Your words tell a story that we can’t tell about ourselves, and they help people who are discovering 611 understand what they can expect when they walk through the door.

The response has already made a difference, and we’re incredibly grateful.

If you haven’t left a review yet, keep them coming. We’d love to hear from you too.