Local Programs

Mountainside Newcomers Club, headed up by president, Maritza Armstrong (second from right), held a week long collection of gently used plastic toys this month. Their efforts yielded 330 toys in next to perfect condition!!  Our friends at Helping Honduras loaded up these plastic treasures and will ship the toys to Honduras next week, just in time to arrive for the holidays and make some very needy children happy.

 
 

For the past two years, teenagers Kyle and Cara Scott and their family have spearheaded the growth of Second Chance Toys of PA.  Their grassroots efforts have paid off.  Teaming with local families, schools, churches, companies and most recently the Philadelphia Phillies, the Scotts have now recycled over 4,000 gently used plastic toys and distributed them to young, deserving children in our community.  It is a win for the environment and for young kids who need and deserve the toys to learn and have fun.
For the 2009 holiday season they are working with a number of local groups to collect gently used plastic toys. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Doylestown, PA is doing a toy drive on November 28.  This is the second time they have supported Second Chance Toys of PA with a holiday drive.  Mill Creek Elementary School and Har Zion Temple will also be hosting toy drives in December.

The 6th and 8th grade students of the Bergen County Special Services School District Nova- Haledon program decided to have a used toy drive at the Haledon Public School in Haledon, N.J.  The students of the Nova-Haledon program wanted to help children, who were less fortunate during the christmas season. The toy drive will run from November 16th - December 4th.

After the success of last year’s collection, Cartridge World and Bethel Lutheran Church, both located in Gurnee, IL are collecting again for their second holiday toy drive.  This year’s recipient of the toys is the Head Start program affiliated with Community Action Partnership (CAP) in Waukegan.  Students from the “Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Club “at Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake are helping us with the collection.  Roots and Shoots is a community service club that helps people, animals and/or the environment.  It was started at the beginning of this school year as an 8th Grade Culminating Project by Hailey and Melissa Richter.

Second Chance Toys has begun to announce the partner programs for plastic toy rescue efforts this holiday season. The first program announced in New Jersey will be held in cooperation with Investors Savings Bank and 1-800-Got-Junk? As programs are finalized, they will be added to the list.

Northwest Rankin Elementary school held a toy drive in April. The enthusiastic students collected their gently used toys and brought them to the school during the Earth Week related drive. In total, the school donated 513 toys to Gateway Rescue Mission in Jackson, Mississippi.
 

From April 13th until April 18th Matt McLaughlin, 1-800-Got-Junk? franchisee, stationed drop boxes in the Moorestown Mall, Voorhees Town Center, Brandywine Realty Locations, and Kaiserman locations where over 350 toys were collected and donated to local charities in the area.  The Camden Catholic Charities and the Center for Family Services were extremely appreciative of the donations and look forward to working with 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and Second Chance Toys in the future.  This was the first time the gently used plastic toy drive was conducted in southern New Jersey and it was a big success!!!  Matt is looking forward to growing this event and others so that we can help even more families!
 
 

Helping Honduras received 320 toys from Mt. Horeb School in Warren. Teacher Christine Burkhardt (in black) organized the drive with the students who cleaned the toys and helped load the truck.

Members of Paramus Congregational Church are pictured with members of Helping Honduras, who have loaded up their truck with 100 toys collected for Earth Week. Janice Hildreth, second from left, helped organize the toy drive with Second Chance Toys. Pastor Duke, second from right, also pitched in.