Spotlight Collector: Brianna Miller

After going through my own kids stash of half used toys, I was ready to throw the bag into one of those generic collection bins you find in the parking lot of a grocery store. I didn't know where they were going to, if they were going to be sold for profit or who they would benefit and I wondered how much of it would even get reused. With all of these questions in my head and a bag full of perfectly good toys on my back porch, I started doing some searching to see what local organizations I could send them off to instead, and that is when I found Second Chance Toys. Knowing that there were other parents thinking like me, I felt compelled to organize a collection of my own.

For my first collection, we set up in Blairstown, Hope and Newton, NJ and advertised on social media as well as in local preschool and elementary schools resulting in somewhere around 600 items being donated. The Blairstown Museum is a huge supporter, they help with everything from advertising to storage and cleaning. The response was overwhelming and had such an impact that around September/October this year people started recommending me in response to families looking to get rid of used toys.

This year, with baby number 3 recently arrived, I did not have as much time to devote, so we had two collection boxes at Buzzwerks Barber Shop and The Blairstown Museum. We collected around 200 items in the 3 short weeks. I look forward to collecting again next year and hope to match or exceed the amount of donations we had the first year. I love that it both helps local families and the environment. We live in a society where so many "disposable" items are still very much usable and rehoming them by donating to families in need is a very responsible solution.