FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Holiday Toy Giveaway Brings Magic of Play to Local Foster Children
Toy Company Volunteers, Toy Industry Foundation, National CASA and Boston CASA
Join Forces at “Play Your Part” Event
Foxborough, MA | December 8, 2017 – More than 100 children in foster care from Massachusetts enjoyed a winter wonderland of play yesterday at a special Play Your Part event hosted by the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) in partnership with the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (National CASA) at Gillette Stadium.
More than 75 volunteers from over a dozen regional toy companies — including Learning Express, LEGO, Little Kids Inc., MasterPieces Puzzle Co., TOMY, and Schylling — helped distribute brand-new toys and run holiday-themed activities for kids, such as decorating snowflakes, making ornaments, and handing out hot chocolate. Volunteers also assembled holiday gift bags filled with hundreds of new toys and games for each child to take home. Thousands of additional foster children throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island will receive gifts from the event this holiday season.
Toys provided at the event and in the gift bags were generously donated by manufacturers, retailers, and distributors to the Toy Industry Foundation’s Toy Bank.
“From stuffed animals and dolls to board games and puzzles, these toys will bring comfort and joy to so many children currently making their way through the foster system,” says Jean Butler, executive director at the Toy Industry Foundation. “We are so proud to continue our important partnership with National CASA. Together, we have been able to provide nearly $4 million in toys to 400,000 foster children since 2013. Thank you to the toy community for helping to make our latest toy giveaway such a success, especially as the holidays draw near.”
“Facing the foster care and court systems is a scary prospect for children of all ages,” says Tara Perry, chief executive officer of National CASA. “A day of fun and special attention like this means so much to the children that CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers serve. And the partnership with the Toy Industry Foundation means so much to us, because of the toys and games provided to these children as well as the generous financial support that allows us to recruit more volunteers to serve even more children who have experienced abuse or neglect in their young lives.”
Play Your Part – Boston is the latest in a series of events hosted by the Toy Industry Foundation and National CASA in various cities nationwide that aim to support and comfort children living in foster care. So far this year, Play Your Part events have been held in Los Angeles and Chicago. The Toy Industry Foundation also provides National CASA with grant funding to support the recruitment and training of volunteer advocates in National CASA’s network of programs across the country.
The Toy Industry Foundation works year-round to bring new toys and games to children who are impoverished, at-risk, in hospitals, in military families, and otherwise in need. To date, the Foundation has provided $200 million in toys to 24 million deserving children.
TIF and National CASA extend thanks to the following event sponsors: ASTRA, Empire Group, Learning Express, LEGO, Little Kids Inc., MasterPieces Puzzles Co., and Schylling. The Wonderfund, Massachusetts’ newly relaunched charity supporting children served by the State Department of Children and Families, partnered with CASA to help make this event possible.
ABOUT TOY INDUSTRY FOUNDATION | www.toyindustryfoundation.org
The Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) is a 501(c)3 children’s charity whose mission is to provide joy and comfort to children in need through the experience of toys and play. The Foundation serves children who are coping with serious illness, enduring temporary home placements in the foster care system, suffering from abuse or neglect, experiencing separation from a deployed military parent, or dealing with devastating natural disasters. To date, the Toy Industry Foundation’s signature program, The Toy Bank, has provided $200 million in toys to 24 million children in need around the globe, thanks to its generous toy donors.
About National CASA Association for Children | www.casaforchildren.org
The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (National CASA), together with its state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every abused or neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home and have the opportunity to thrive. Today, 87,000 court appointed special advocate and guardian ad litem volunteers serve more than 280,000 children, but more than 400,000 children are without a volunteer advocate. National CASA is working in partnership with its state and local programs in 49 states and D.C. to close that gap.