Toy Donations

 
Jocelyn Goldberg, a 13-year-old Upper East Side student who founded the NY chapter of Second Chance Toys, has organized a citywide toy collection to mark Earth Week and National Child Abuse Month.  Second Chance Toys is an organization that recycles gently used plastic toys by donating them to children in need.  Schools, religious organizations and businesses throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn have mobilized drives to recycle plastic toys which do not biodegrade and often wind up in city landfills.  Donations go to community based organizations serving families in need.

According to Jocelyn, "this drive gives kids a chance to help other kids through a program that focuses on those less fortunate and the environment.  In a large city like NY, there can be a great disparity between those that have and those that don't. It is a great lesson for students to get involved and give up something of their own to help others." 

Plastic toys are being collected and transported to local charities and community shelters by 1-800-GOT-Junk?, a full service junk removal company which has volunteered its trucks for transport.

Many of the of toys collected this week are being donated to the Prospect Family Support Center, a crisis center for women and children from Abused Families.  According to Dona Anderson, Senior Program Associate & Camp Services Coordinator, "Homes for the Homeless provides early on-site childcare and childhood education to over 100 young homeless children every day.  National Child Abuse Month is a special time of year that acknowledges the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse in all its forms".  For more information on Homes for the Homeless programs and services please go to go to http://www.homesforthehomeless.com/

St Elizabeth’s Church in Wyckoff, NJ recently held a Second Chance Toys collection and was able to donate 200 toys to the children of Honduras. Pictured here are some of the toys that were loaded up to be shipped to Central America.

When Second Chance Toys got an email from concerned citizens, Pam and Isabel Reyna, who wanted to prevent their toys and their friends’ toys from ending up in the landfills, Second Chance Toys found them an organization that would gladly accept their collection of plastic toys in good condition. The High Ridge YMCA of the Chicago Metropolitan area was the recipient of 50 beautiful toys!!

Here are some happy faces from kids in the Educational Alliance’s early childhood program along with toys provided by Second Chance Toys’ holiday toy drive.
 
 

University Academy Charter High School in Jersey City worked with Second Chance Toys to conduct a month long plastic toy drive at their school. The drive was spearheaded by teacher, Mr. Angel Cora along with the associate member students of the Psi Sigma Phi Multicultural Fraternity. The students worked hard to collect, clean and sort the toys. The Jubilee Center in Hoboken, NJ was thrilled to receive the 200 toys donated.

Brownie Troop 193, under the leadership of Cyndie Decowski, collected 150 toys and donated them to the NORWESCAP Head Start program in Washington, NJ. Pictured here are the girls who cleaned, sorted and counted all the toys and presented a meaningful donation this past December.

 
This week, Second Chance Toys came to New York's Lower East Side with a bounty of toys for The Educational Alliance and its Head Start Program. These gently used plastic toys, most certainly destined for a land fill, have now found a new home. The Educational Alliance is one of the first settlement houses on the Lower East Side. It is a community-based organization offering a wide range of programs that integrate education, social services, arts and recreation throughout Downtown Manhattan. Originally founded to help Eastern European Jews assimilate into American society, it has proven to be an important stepping stone for all that have begun their American journey in Downtown Manhattan. The Educational Alliance now has 80 programs at 32 sites.To help make this all possible, 1-800-GOT-Junk? provides pick-up and transportation from drop-off locations to organizations like The Educational Alliance.

 

This December, Kindergarten students from Disney Magnet School in Chicago got to experience what giving is all about.  With the help of Second Chance Toys, the students donated over 100 gently used toys to the Humboldt Park YMCA as part of their Citizenship unit in social studies.  Students were encouraged to go home and look for plastic toys that were still in good shape and had all their parts.  This was a very daunting task for the five year olds, most of whom had never considered the idea that other children in their own city would not be receiving toys and other gifts this holiday season.  The seven Kindergarten teachers organized the drive, and all were quite pleased with the outcome -- seven garbage bags full of toys that would be put to good use at the west side YMCA.  "The children really got caught up in the spirit of giving,"  commented one teacher.  "Many students really seemed to step outside of themselves and see things from a new perspective -- which is very challenging for young children and quite rare."  The Kindergarten team expects to hold another drive this spring for Earth Week. 

The grassroots Second Chance Toys of PA initiative is taking off.  This holiday season, Kyle and Cara Scott's young organization (barely 2 years in operation) is donating another 1,200 recycled plastic toys to children throughout Bucks County, PA, North Philadelphia and Mercer County, NJ.  Donations are being made to 20 Head Start Centers and inner city after school programs in the area. The timing could not be better given the tough economic climate and the growing number of disadvantaged children in the region.  Pictured below are just a few of the happy kids and teachers who appreciated the great holiday gifts which would not have been possible without the generosity of so many in our community.