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Sasha Lipton, founder of Second Chance Toys, was selected to receive a bronze Distinguished Finalist medallion in the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for recognition of outstanding volunteer work. As part of her community service work, Sasha has also qualified for the President's Volunteer Service Award on behalf of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
Members of the Head Start team are at it again loading up more than 100 Second Chance Toys for distribution to children ages 3 - 5 throughout their Middlesex County childcare centers. The toy distribution effort, which was once again coordinated by Karen Boateng (right) of the Community Development Institute, will bring miles of smiles and interactive play to the hundreds of children served by the organization.
Second Chance Toys teams up with Helping Honduras Inc. (www.helpinghn.org) to donate over 200 plastic toys to the needy children of Honduras. Sasha Lipton (left) shows Juan Pablo Cardenas, founder of Helping Honduras, some of the many toys collected for his organization before loading them up for delivery to their Union City, NJ headquarters.
As a means to cultivate insights and guide our ideas to achieve our vision, Second Chance Toys has formed an Advisory Board of distinguished professionals. Members include:
- Dale Bornstein, Partner/Director, Global Practices, Ketchum
- Leslie Leventman, Executive Vice President, MTV Networks
- Craig Scott, President & CEO, TargetRx
- Jerry Shereshewsky, CEO, Grandparents.com
- Bronna Lipton, Spanish Teacher, Scotch Plains– Fanwood Public Schools
- Shelly Lipton, Chief Marketing Officer, Grandparents.com
Second Chance Toys donated over 100 toys to St. Joseph Social Service Center which since 1983 has served the materially poor and homeless community of greater Elizabeth, NJ. The toys are expected to bring some cheer to the many children supported by the center. Receiving the toys from Sasha Lipton (right), founder of Second Chance Toys is Sister Jacinta Fernandez (left) representing the leadership of the center.
To us, your gently used toys are certainly not junk!!Demonstrating dedication to community service and the Second Chance Toys mission of rescuing and recycling plastic toys, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, jumped in to help transport toys collected from several branches of Investors Savings Bank. By bringing together the community and local businesses, the vision of Second Chance Toys becoming a national organization is getting closer to reality. To learn more about 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, go to www.1800gotjunk.com. To find an Investors Savings Bank branch near you, go to www.isbnj.com. And to learn more about how you, your community or business can get involved in supporting us in our efforts to rescue and recycle a greater number of plastic toys for needy children, please contact us at slipton@secondchancetoys.org.
1-800-GOT-JUNK? will be assisting Second Chance Toys in rescuing plastic toys by not only donating those they collect but also in providing pick-up and transportation services from the growing number of plastic toy drop-off locations being established.
1-800-GOT-JUNK? is pioneering an industry that is helping people de-clutter and live cleaner, better lives. Whether it’s an old sofa or old lawn furniture in the garage, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? removes it for you. Founded in 1989, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has more than 300 franchise locations in North America, Australia and the United Kingdom. For more information on their services, call 1-800-468-5865 or go to www.1800gotjunk.com
In order to help build a groundswell of support and involvement around the Second Chance Toys mission of rescuing and refurbishing plastic toys for needy children, we're looking for schools, community and religious groups around the country to incorporate this plastic toy recycling initiative into their activities to commemorate Earth Week 2008 observances (April 18 - April 27). PLEASE help us bring Second Chance Toys to more communities throughout the state and the U.S. There are a ton of plastic toys to be saved from the landfills and an equal number of children in need of toys. The life lessons kids can learn from their participation are numerous and include a better understanding of the importance in protecting our environment and giving of themselves to help children in need. If you are interested in creating a program similar to the model programs already created (Click Here) please contact us at slipton@secondchancetoys.org so we can help in any way possible.
Second Chance Toys of Pennsylvania, started by Doylestown-based high school junior Kyle Scott and his sister Cara Scott, distributed over 50 toys today for children at the Bucks County Chapter of Head Start in Morrisville, PA. Receiving the rescued and refurbished toys were 26 delighted children between the ages of 3 and 5 served at the Morrisville Head Start facility led by Director, Marcia Straka. Sharing the toys with the children are Cara Scott (left) and Kyle Scott (right). To donate plastic toys to Second Chance Toys of Pennsylvania, please call 215-990-8615 or email craigoscott@aol.com.
Mindy Schwartz (left) of the L.A. Spencer Elementary School in Newark, NJ receives a collection of Second Chance Toys from Sasha Lipton, for 2 classes of special needs children.
Toys, toys, toys! This is what several children at the Newark Housing Authority's Belle Mead facility will be experiencing for the holidays. Receiving a donation of over 125 Second Chance Toys for the children at the Belle Mead residence in Newark, NJ are Katrice Gillespie (right) and Samuel Sykes, who contacted Second Chance Toys in order to help make a difference for the kids in their community, many of whom were going to be without toys for the holidays.
As part of an effort to give back to the community, Westfield Pediatric Dental Group, located in Westfield, NJ, held a drive to collect gently used toys from its patients. An overwhelming response resulted in over 100 toys being collected for Second Chance Toys. Sasha Lipton, Founder of Second Chance Toys, presents Dr. Timothy McCabe of the Westfield Pediatric Dental Group with a certificate of appreciation.
Members of the Head Start team load up Second Chance Toys for distribution to children ages 3 - 5 in their Perth Amboy Center. The effort was coordinated by Karen Boateng of the Community Development Institute.
The Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Union in New Jersey presented Sasha Lipton, founder of Second Chance Toys, with a Resolution in recognition of her efforts. They congratulated Sasha for her dedication to helping others in conjunction with a donation of 125 Second Chance Toys to the Union County Toy Drive. Gathering to present the Resolution to Sasha at the Union County Administration building in Elizabeth, NJ along with the donation of Second Chance Toys are (from left to right) Mary Krech, Toy Drive Coordinator, Union County Department of Human Services, Bette Jane Kowalski, Chairwoman of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Sasha Lipton (holding the offical Resolution), and Angel G. Estrada, Vice Chairman of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Sasha received the formal Resolution following an official dedication in the Board room at the Freeholders meeting.
The entire second grade class at the Irwin Elementary School in East Brunswick collected plastic toys as part of a social studies unit about community and doing good for others. Second Chance Toys helped the class connect with Head Start of Middlesex County and orchestrate a donation. The children donated nearly 100 toys, many of which were their own. Second Chance Toys was on hand to present the class with a Certificate of Appreciation for their hard work in helping other children and the environment. Directors from Head Start had an entire bus load of toys to deliver to the children they serve.
We continue to check rescued toys against lists published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html in a continued effort to ensure the toys we collect are acceptable for donation. Any toys resembling those on the list are disposed of through local plastic recycling programs. While the majority of Second Chance Toys rescued are 5 or more years old, we continue to be diligent to ensure the more recent recalled toys are eliminated from any donations.
