Category: Blog

Fun Ideas For DIY Mask Decorating

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Wearing face masks is important as we fight to keep our families and communities safe. White fabric face masks like our Hanes mask provide a blank palette for you to bring out your personality. Here are 3 ideas that you can do at home.

Tie Dye
Tie-Dye has emerged as one of the biggest trends of the year for all ages. Plus, it’s easy for kids and teens to create at home! Wear an old shirt or apron and cover your surfaces with a table cloth before you start. Starting with a plain white fabric mask, twist and rubber band the areas you want to color. Apply your favorite color combinations and let dry for 6-8 hours. Once the time is up rinse with cold water and lay out to dry.

Stickers
For those who like to switch it up often, stickers are a low cost and easy way to bring your personality to your mask. You can use this method on a fabric or paper mask. Little ones will get a kick out of being able to put dinosaurs or bumblebees on their masks. Teens will love being able to add bling with sticky jewels for a temporary pop. We also have a case of emoji stickers that will be a hit for all ages. Don’t forget to remove the stickers before washing.

Markers
Pick up a case of non-toxic markers to allow for complete creativity. Draw flowers, bugs, or just a silly face. You can also add in felt cutouts to accentuate your drawings.

Wearing a face mask doesn’t have to be boring! Stay safe and add your own personal touch to your face masks with some of these ideas for kids and adults.

2020 Wholesale Winter Catalog

Introducing our new 2020 Winter Catalog

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We are so excited to unveil our 2020 catalog dedicated to Winter. This year we continue our Season of Sharing campaign with a curated collection of products that are needed by so many people this time of year. Our campaign breaks down into basic categories making it easy to find the items you are looking for.

Our catalog features all our winter clothing, winter gloves, accessory sets and outerwear. We also feature our Wolf Blankets perfect for so many uses. We have an entire category dedicated to our collection of wholesale toys that are perfect for donations, toy drives and giving trees. Pick from some of our most popular toy categories like stuffed animals, cars & trucks, and activity books.

Our health category is full of items to help keep our communities safe and healthy. Normally we feature items like hygiene and dental kits, but this year we have expanded it to include masks and PPE items as well. We have grown our selection of bulk food items featuring ready to eat items. You can fill your pantry or donate to your local food bank.

Our finally category is all about the things you need to bring the fun to all the holidays! We have bulk party supplies, Christmas and Chanukah decorations by the case and tablewear.

Browse our catalog by clicking on the image below.

Trunk or Treating

Fun and Safe Ways to Celebrate Halloween!

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The Coronavirus has changed the way we live this year as well as how we celebrate occasions and holidays. With social distancing still an important part of prevention, celebrating Halloween will be very different this year. We are here to help you figure out fun ways to celebrate Halloween safely. Certain states are already laying out guidelines on how people should be celebrating Halloween this year. The one thing that will probably see the biggest change this year is trick or treating. Here are a few ideas how to make Halloween special for the kids big or small.

Trunk-or-Treating

This is the biggest buzz word going around right now. There are a couple different ways people are thinking about Trunk or Treating. One idea is to host an event in a parking lot or in your neighborhood, where people put Halloween decorations in the trunk of their cars and hand out candy to kids as they go house to house. The candy can be in pre-made treat bags ready to hand out. Consider having designated adults who will commit to applying hand sanitizer and give out the candy rather than encourage lots of little hands to reach inside the bowl. Another variation of Trunk or Treating has families drive down the street with their trunk open, so those handing out candy can just drop it into a bag or basket in the trunk helping people stay social distanced.

Zoom Costume Contest

Now that your kids are probably better at hosting a Zoom meeting than you are, help them coordinate an online costume contest. Work with other parents to come up with prizes for certain categories like scariest costume, best super hero or funniest costume. You can send prizes online like gift cards or credits to gaming platforms.

Mask Decorating Contests

If your kids will be out celebrating, they will most likely need a face mask. So, use that opportunity to decorating with something fun or make it part of your costume. Check out our Arts and Crafts section for all the supplies you might need.

DIY Halloween Decorations

Save money and create a fun activity with the kids by making your own halloween decorations. Find stencils online to create shapes like bats, pumpkins and witches hats. We have a great variety of construction paper pads and paint sets that will keep the kids busy.

Wholesale Toy Store

Introducing our 2020 Wholesale Toy Catalog!

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We are very excited to announce the release of our 2020 Wholesale Toy Catalog. This year there is likely going to be supply issues as we move into the holiday shopping season. We know the popular toys usually sell out first, so we can expect those to sell out even earlier this year. We also anticipate that the number of children who will be in need of toy donations will be much greater than in any years past. We highly encourage people to purchase their toys early to make sure kids in need will have something under the tree.

Each year we work to expand our assortment of toys that are available in bulk. We are excited to announce some exciting brands have been added to our line up including Barbie, Disney and Crayola.

As we mentioned, with the pandemic impacting supplies of toys this year, we suggest make your purchases early to make sure you get the toys you need for your missions. Visit our Toy Shop where we have made finding the right toys by age, price and category easy as pie.

Disaster Preparedness In the Age of COVID-19

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Even before COVID-19, this time of year was concerning for many due to the number of natural disasters that happen around this time. Whether it be hurricane season in the gulf or wild fires in the west, preparing and recovering from disasters requires help in many forms. Earlier this month the east coast was hit by Hurricane Isaias and California started experiencing wild fires again. It became a brutal reminder that you can’t approach disasters the same way we did before the Coronavirus.

To be able to help people recover from these catastrophic events requires an extra level of preparedness and hygiene. While we have always been here to provide Disaster Recovery products, we now can also provide an entire line of Personal Protective Equipment.

Unfortunately, many hoped that Covid-19 would be a short lived pandemic. But, most indicators show that we will be dealing with this for some time to come. As we move into another dangerous season of natural disasters, please keep in mind the importance of keeping yourself protected while you work hard to help those recover.

Below is a list of some of the most needed items during this time of year. Between preparing and recovering, now is the time to stock up on these important items that continue to be hard to find at your standard big box stores.

Beneficial Items Include:

How you can help:

Contact your local nonprofit: Find out what initiatives local nonprofits are taking to help those affected, and donate the products they need most.

Contact your church: Often times, churches will work with other branches or sister churches during these times to collect and ship them the products they need.

Top 5 Coronavirus Relief Organizations

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There are two sides to the relief effort for COVID-19: a vaccine and the day-to-day care and prevention. As research labs and government agencies across the world work to develop a viable vaccine, many nonprofit organizations have been pouring their resources into supporting individuals and local relief groups. Here is a list of some of the top nonprofit organizations doing their part to help those affected by this disease:

1. Good360

Good360 is an international charitable organization that specializes in product philanthropy by sourcing needed goods from reputable brands across the world and offering them to their nonprofit partners. So far, they have provided “more than $135 million in donated goods in response to the COVID-19 pandemic”. They currently have over 90,000 partners in their nonprofit network so their impact is far-reaching.
Learn more and donate here.

2. United Way Worldwide

Founded in 1887, the United Way is a global nonprofit organization that has worked for decades to improve the livelihood of local communities. Their primary focus is to strengthen the “education, financial stability and health” of those they serve.
You can donate today to the COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund and learn more about how the United Way is stepping up to support many of the local services that are currently overwhelmed by the virus.

3. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders

Médecins Sans Frontières (or Doctors Without Borders) is a medical NGO that provides medical resources to countries around the world. MSF was founded in 1971 with the belief “that all people have the right to medical care regardless of gender, race, religion, creed, or political affiliation”. Recently, MSF has turned their efforts towards providing support during this pandemic. They are currently “caring for patients, offering health education and mental health support, and providing training for vital infection control measures in health facilities around the world”. You can learn more and donate to MSF here.

4. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is a non-profit organization that provides education regarding “the burden, causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases across the lifespan”. This has become especially valuable during the pandemic as they continue to provide unique resources regarding prevention techniques and maintaining vaccine rates amid the pandemic. You can support their work here.

5. Crisis Aid International

Crisis Aid International is a nonprofit organization that specializes in helping those in Africa and the United States in crisis situations. To date, they “have provided more than 17.8 million pounds of food, served 2.6 million adults and malnourished children, and 1,378 sex trafficking victims helped, the youngest being 4 years of age”. In response to COVID-19, they have worked diligently to expand their food programs to assist local communities and service projects. As with all of these great organizations, they can always use extra support. You can donate to Crisis Aid International here.

Additional COVID-19 Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus

How to Make an Outreach Kit in 2021

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Let’s be honest, this past year is not what anyone expected. Many industries have been disrupted by COVID-19 as we all continue to adapt. One group that is near and dear to us, is nonprofits. Many nonprofits have had to either cancel their annual events or make drastic cutbacks to what they are able to provide. The good news is that we can all continue to support our communities as individuals or as part of an organization.

Building the Ideal Kit

One of the staples of community outreach is providing kits of essential items for those in need. During a normal year, kits could include school supplies for underprivileged students or personal hygiene products for the homeless. While those items are still incredibly valuable, a few key additions may be necessary.

Homeless Care Kits

When putting together a care kit for the homeless some common items to include are hygiene products, socks, snacks and a reusable water bottle. We have the privilege of working with many nonprofits and these are some of the most common items we help find for them for their projects.

With COVID-19, it’s now important to consider what additional items are necessary to help protect the homeless population. Some great items to include are a pack of masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. Not having the luxury of 24/7 shelter means we need to do all we can to protect them from the virus.

School Supply Kits

Another common project for nonprofits is backpack drives for underprivileged students. We’ve worked with both schools and nonprofits for years so we always have a selection of school supplies that work for classroom shopping and outreach projects. As we know, schools are in a difficult position trying to determine the best way to navigate the 2020-2021 school year. In turn, that means many nonprofits have needed to adjust their projects based on if their local schools are fully reopening or not. Regardless, we as individuals can also chip in to provide needed supplies for students at home and in the classroom.

Along with classic school supplies, masks and PPE are essential for students returning to the classroom. Because of that, we’ve made sure to have kid-size masks available. For students at home, the needs change a bit. While they will need all the usual writing utensils and notebooks, it’s a good idea to include some puzzle books or educational toys as fun activities for the kids. Lastly, many students rely on school for some of their meals, so providing some snacks or ready-to-eat meals is extremely valuable.

Once your kit is ready to go, all that’s left is to put it in a nice backpack whether it’ll be for this school year or the next.

It’s important to remember, as these changes continue, that we are all in this together. There will always be opportunities for us to continue to help one another. Putting together a care kit for someone in need is a great way to start.

Why You Should Become a DollarDays Affiliate

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Let’s start with the obvious question: What is an affiliate?

An affiliate is basically a person or group who helps advertise for a company through content or promotions. An affiliate can take a lot of different forms depending on the person and the company they are promoting. We wanted to offer a few reasons why becoming an affiliate makes financial sense and some tips to pick the right partners.

1. It’s a Great Way to Earn Extra Income

Making money as an affiliate can work in a few ways. Mainly, you can earn a commission from the sales you generate or get paid a flat fee for individual promotions. Obviously, how big or small these payments are will depend on the company. You probably won’t earn too much as an affiliate for a small, specialty store as opposed to *hint* *hint* an online wholesale store, for example. In the end, you really want to work with a company with high volume and large order values.

2. There is No One Way to be an Affiliate

There is a lot of freedom that can come with being an affiliate. At the end of the day, you are trying to appeal to your audience so it should be in your voice and style. As long as you represent the company correctly, you can definitely get creative. At DollarDays, we are always looking for fun, new content to reach a larger audience. We encourage our affiliates to utilize social media, Youtube, personal blogs, newsletters and more to generate buzz.

3. You Choose How Engaged You Want to Be

It’s important for an affiliate to be able to resonate with the brand they are promoting. It’s hard to suggest a product or service to your audience when you don’t believe in it yourself. So, in that spirit, we wanted to share our company’s Mission Statement:

We are a team of like-minded individuals working together to serve nonprofits by sourcing critically needed goods that allow our partners to stretch their dollars, accomplish their missions and provide dignity to those in need.

You know what your audience wants, so you can promote 100% of what we do or 10%. It’s your choice. So if you already have an engaged online community and want to earn some extra income, an affiliate program might be a great fit for you!

Submit your Application Here.

Donating your Time and Money: Choosing the Right Nonprofit

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According to Statista, in 2015, “there were about 1,088,447 public charities” in the U.S. If you’re a volunteer or a group of volunteers looking for the right mission to donate your time and money to, that’s a lot of options. At that point it’s important to make sure you choose a reputable organization, with similar goals. To help guide you, we’ve listed a few helpful tips to keep in mind when donating your time and money to the right nonprofit:

1. Make Sure Your Values Align

This may seem the most obvious, but it is also one of the most important things to keep in mind when working with a nonprofit. Since many nonprofits have missions focused on community betterment, they tend to have a list of core values that inform how they go about those missions.

For example, an organization like the Salvation Army has a very strong religious foundation that is integral to how they conduct themselves and their projects. Some people could have similar backgrounds and so that’s a great selling point which allows them to get on board with the mission right away. For others, they may like some of the projects, but if the motivations aren’t the same it can be hard staying engaged. Therefore, it’s important to take the time and research why a nonprofit is engaging in the work they do to make sure it resonates with you on a personal level.

2. Understand Their Needs

Since we work with nonprofits everyday, we have definitely learned the importance of listening first. Enthusiasm for your chosen nonprofit is great, but it’s only half the battle. Make sure you are communicating with the organization so that you understand their needs and can help them make the largest impact. You could excitedly show up with a trunk full of toy donations, only to find out they recently finished their toy drive and really need socks.

Many nonprofits will utilize a wish list or newsletter to communicate their up-to-date needs. The important thing is to reach out before leaping into action.

3. Avoid Shady Organizations and Scams

Unfortunately, some organizations will pop up soliciting donations for a crisis or some urgent project that are less than reputable. This is when research really comes in handy. It’s easy to get swept up in the moment, because you want to help and don’t want to waste time. I promise, though, you’ll be glad to take the extra moment to dig a little deeper.

One tip is to just start with searching the name of the organization and add “complaints” or “scam”. More likely than not, if they are illegitimate, someone is already talking about it. If you want to go even deeper, there are also helpful tools like GuideStar to help you vet a nonprofit.

Finding a local chapter of nationally recognized organizations like United Way or Kiwanis is a great start for working with legitimate groups. Legitimate or not, you should never be shy to ask probing questions. Make sure you know how successful an organization has been with it’s missions and resources. That could be the deciding factor for if their are worth your hard work and money.

Charity and philanthropy are beautiful things and we applaud all those you participate in it. When you are able to find that mission you truly connect with, it makes it all the more rewarding.

If you are looking for ways to support your local charity through needed essentials, considering shopping wholesale with DollarDays.

Masks & PPE: Where to Start?

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By Michael Campbell

As cases of COVID-19 continue to surge across the country, social distancing and wearing face masks in public will be the norm for a while longer. This new reality leaves people with a lot of questions regarding where to find these new essentials in the quantities they need.

As the crisis began, the market was flooded with different products at all kinds of prices and it hasn’t let up since. This makes it hard to sift through the noise and find what you actually need at the right price. Therefore, we wanted to take a moment to talk about what we offer and why it may fit your needs.

Retail

One of the obvious areas in need of masks and PPE is retail. People are looking online and in-person for supplies so it makes sense to have your store stocked up. We make sure to have a range of case quantities with no minimum order value so stores can test what will be best for their customers without breaking the bank. Additionally, if you run a brick-and-mortar store, it’s important to keep a good supply of masks and PPE to keep your employees safe and protected.

School

Schools are another area that will definitely be in need of PPE this school year. From sanitizer stations and cleaning supplies for buses to personal masks and face shields, a lot of preparation will be needed for schools that decide to have any level of in-person classes. Be sure to check out our selection of adult and kid masks or PPE kits.

You can read more about our tips for school preparation here.

Personal Use

Buying wholesale is not exclusive to businesses or schools. Many individuals have found the benefit of buying in bulk, especially with the usual shopping trips becoming more spread out. We recommend some larger sanitizer bottles for home and to refill any travel bottles you may have. You can also stock up on standard 3-ply face masks or grab a case of cloth masks that you can wash and reuse.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to keep yourself and those around you safe no matter what your day-to-day routine looks like. We’re here to help with whatever your needs are so please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Call Our Team Today! We’re Here to Help (888) 969-6301.