Blog
A load of newly acquired toys from our Investors Savings Bank toy drop off locations was donated today to Families and Communities Together in Mountainside. Kim Castaldo, Community Service Case Manager, distributed the toys among the social workers that service the families and their children.
The Shapiro Center for Early Intervention received a timely donation of 100 Second Chance Toys. Some of the toys remained on site for the children to play with and other toys were given away to the children. Among the most needy recipients was a family of nine children who were ecstatic.
In conjunction with the 2008 Good & Green Marketing Conference, Sasha Lipton, founder of Second Chance Toys, will be speaking about what drew her to launch her green initiative in 2006 to rescue and recycle plastic toys for needy children (www.goodandgreen.biz/bios.php#lipton). As part of the conference program being held in Chicago, IL December 3-4, a plastic toys collection effort will be held, culminating at the Chicago Cultural Center. For more information, visit www.goodandgreen.biz
Today, 100 toys were donated to the Middlesex Economic Opportunities Corporation. There were 51 students in the
Perth Amboy facility that were the beneficiaries of the collection, which was donated at our
North Brunswick drop off site.
Woodmont Day Camp in New City, NY and Second Chance Toys teamed up to collect toys for needy children. Nearly 200 toys were rescued and donated to Jewish Family Services of Rockland County.
Sasha Lipton donates 85 toys to the Family and Children's Services of Central NJ to help the toddlers in the Family Child Home Program. Pictured are Tania Tapia, program manager and Marla Rivera, her assistant, who work with parents to show them how to use the toys to play with and teach their children.
Pamela Schacter, M.S. Ed., Program Manager, at University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ accepts 30 Second Chance Toys from Sasha Lipton that were collected specifically to help the toddlers in her Early Intervention Program develop skills.The following is a testimonial letter:
Dear Sasha-Wow! I brought my second load of toys from you into the office today and my staff were so excited! We operate on such a limited budget that we rarely are able to buy new toys for our program. I set aside a toy that has noise and vibrates for a child we serve who is deaf-blind. Her physical therapist was so excited to have it to give to the family.This afternoon I was observing my Occupational Therapist in the home of a little boy who is partially paralyzed in one arm. I asked his mom if she had toys to use to help him learn to use both hands. She said no, she really couldn't afford to buy new toys. I came back to the office and set aside blocks, pop beads and a farm for the therapist to bring to him on the next visit.These are just a few of the concrete examples of the amazing good that your work is doing.Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Together we are better, and together we are making a real difference!Pam Schachter, M.S. EdEarly Intervention Program Manager, UMDNJ
Just in time for their May shipment of toys to Honduras, Second Chance Toys funneled several collections of toys to Helping Honduras. Helping Honduras received a total of 550 toys from the Girl Scouts of Brayton School in Summit, NJ, Roots and Wings Family Daycare Center in Skillman, NJ and from donations given directly to Second Chance Toys by individuals. The toys will be distributed by officials in Honduras to the needy, hospitals and schools. We are very happy to help Juan Pablo Cardenas and his crew of hard working volunteers that work hard to help their country. For more information on Helping Honduras go to www.helpinghn.org
The Roots and Wings Family Daycare Center in Skillman, NJ is closing and needed to find a home for 200 toys. They contacted Second Chance Toys and were very happy to find a way to put these toys to good use. These toys, including some large plastic playground toys and two large plastic houses were all part of the donation that went to Helping Honduras. The large playground toys will be used at schools and community centers that help the poor.
The Girl Scouts at Brayton School held a Second Chance Toys collection at their school on May 3rd. They worked very hard to collect, clean and tag 200 toys with Second Chance Toys hang tags. Coordinated by Sara Kaplan, the girls and their parents were happy to take part in a really meaningful program that not only helped children less fortunate than they, but one that would help the environment too! It was a great way to learn to reuse and recycle. Their toys are being shipped to Honduras to help children all over the country.
The Brownies of Amsterdam Elementary School Troop 35 collected approximately 250 toys from many generous people in the community.
Chelsea, Julie, Taylor, Isabella, Ann Marie, Jessica, Jenna, Angela, Christina, Cara, and Riya spent part of a meeting decorating a toy collection box and creating a poster for the Toy Rescue Drive. For the poster, Co-Op Leader Claudia Ganas helped each girl trace their hand and titled it “The Earth is in Our Handsâ€. They placed the flyer to collect clean, gently used toys in the center of their poster. They also sent a flyer home with all students in their school. For the next two weeks they watched their toy collection box overflow in the entry way of their school.
The photo with some of the brownies was taken after only the first week of the troops toy rescue efforts. The teachers from the Somerset County Head Start programs at 3 different schools will get first pick of the toys for their classrooms. The remaining toys will go to low income families in the local community. "Great job girls and great program Second Chance Toys" noted the Co-Op Troop Leader, Alisa Ugalde, who organized the program.
Second Chance Toys of PA announced today that Earth Week toy donations benefited hundreds of children in our area and have helped catapult total donations to more than1,500 toys. Second Chance Toys of PA is a community-based program started by local high-school students, Kyle and Cara Scott, that collects and recycles gently used plastic toys for distribution to disadvantaged children throughout our region.
The Scotts have been collecting toys since the summer of 2007 with donations often provided by families whose kids have outgrown toys that are still in good condition. For Earth Week, many others in our local community also pitched in to help. Toy drives were successfully run by students at Hallowell Elementary School in Horsham, employees of Kulicke & Soffa, Inc. in Fort Washington, and the Brownies of Pine Run Elementary School in New Britain. Eric Blum, local franchise owner for 1-800-GOT-JUNK? (http://www.1800gotjunk.com/us_en/), also volunteered and helped transport collected toys to some of the donation centers. During Earth Week, hundreds of low-income, deserving children in Warminster, North Philadelphia, Pottstown, Mercer County, and Trenton, NJ were the happy recipients of the toys.
If you would like to donate plastic toys to the Second Chance Toys of PA effort, please call 215-990-8615 or email craigoscott@aol.com.
Cara (age 15) and Kyle Scott (age 17), co-founders of Second Chance Toys of PA.
Kyle and Cara Scott with happy Head Start children and lots of “Second Chance Toys†in Warminster, PA.
Smiling kids and caregivers at the pediatric day health center at the Millhouse in Trenton, NJ enjoy new playground equipment from Second Chance Toys of PA.
