For the homeless and the shelters, reusable tote bags (with closures) that contain small containers of soap. toothpaste.etc. An excellent addition is socks (the #1 requested item). Also small containers of lotion. That may seem like an odd item, but the hands and feet of the homeless can be so ripped up and worn. If you have a battered woman's shelter (check with the local police dept. because they will not give out address), along with women's items include smaller bags (I like to make small messenger bags) filled with coloring books, simple books, small toys. Often the children leave their homes with nothing. One of our scouts made her gold award project building a small bookcase, filling it with children's books and recording these books on tape for our local shelter. Many of the books were recorded by 'older' folks. It helped ease the burden on these little ones while they were there.