Homegrown Humanitarianism
Every year Second Chance Toys' expansive network of volunteers and supporters grows larger, and every year each individual proves to be priceless to our team in the missions against plastic waste and poverty. This past holiday season we were overjoyed to work with Kiera Dunlevy, a Manasquan High School Junior, who single-handedly coordinated a toy drive in her community. Kiera reached out directly to the SCT team to discuss her ideas and get some more information. She then registered for a recipient match and took off running! She created her own marketing, monitored donation intake for quality and volume, and transported the toys to their final destination, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County. Here’s how Kiera reflects on her experience:
“I chose to do a SCT toy drive for my NHS (National Honor Society) project because I loved how it combined giving back to local families for the holiday season with helping save the environment. I wasn't sure what to expect at the beginning, but I received immediate responses from local families eager to contribute to the drive when I posted my flier, many telling me how they hate just throwing perfectly good toys away. I had originally estimated getting about 50 toys but ended up getting over double that! Although it was for sure a time commitment, the general process of setting up the drive and collecting donations was pretty easy and definitely worth it. I'm glad I heard about SCT because I'm passionate about helping the environment, and it was quite eye opening seeing how much plastic may have otherwise ended up in a landfill.”
Kiera showed such superb creativity and devotion to her toy collection and we are thrilled to announce that over 100 gently-used plastic toys were donated (well over the initial estimate)! Efforts like these by high school students especially remind us of our roots and warm our hearts because SCT was founded by a teenager with a dream! The Second Chance Toys team applauds Kiera and all local teens who take on leadership roles to make a positive impact on their communities and our Earth!
