Toy Companies Give Back this Holiday Season
December 19, 2017 | The toy community is spreading kindness and joy this holiday season with tons of programs and initiatives underway to help children in need. This month, companies including Crayola, Educational Insights, Funrise, Hasbro, Jakks Pacific, Spin Master, The Dunk Collection, Toys“R”Us, Wicked Cool Toys, and Zuru are just a few Toy Association members giving back.
Crayola Donates to Local Toys for Tots
Crayola, through its offices in Lehigh Valley, PA, joined forces with Toys for Tots in early December to donate 15 pallets of toys, including paint kits, coloring books and markers, colored pencils, toy chests, and more.
Educational Insights Gives Back to Local Community by Donating $10,000 Worth of Toys
Educational Insights co-sponsored a December 3 event by Kids4Community in San Diego, CA to create more than 1,500 stockings and over 1,000 hygiene kits for the homeless over the holidays. Educational Insights also provided $10,000 worth of toys, including Playfoam, Kanoodle, and Puppet-on-a-Stick.
Funrise Brings Joy to Children with Holiday Donations
This December, Funrise donated thousands of toys to ABC7 Spark of Love Toy Drive, including dolls, plush, vehicles, and bubbles. The company also supported NBA Champion Shaquille O’Neal’s Shaq-A-Claus events by donating hundreds of plush to the former basketball player’s program that delivers holiday gifts and cheer to underprivileged children around the country.
Hasbro Celebrates Global Day of Joy with Company-wide Day of Service to Benefit Children in Need
Hasbro celebrated its 5th annual Global Day of Joy on December 14, during which global employees spent the day spreading holiday cheer to children in need through volunteer projects, acts of kindness, and toy and game donations. From Rhode Island to France to Hong Kong, approximately 5,400 Hasbro employees volunteered with roughly 250 organizations in more than 40 countries. During the holiday season, Hasbro is donating 1.5 million toys and games to organizations benefitting children worldwide, valued at more than $14 million.
Jakks Pacific Donates More than 115,000 Toys This Holiday Season
Jakks Pacific donated more than 115,000 toys over the past three months to children in need through its philanthropic arm, Jakks Cares. In December alone, the Jakks team worked closely with its signature partners such as the LA Clippers, TODAY Show Toy Drive, ABC7 Spark of Love Toy Drive, Indiana Pacers Foundation, Ryan Seacrest Foundation, and Shaquille O’Neal’s Shaq-A-Claus events to deliver toys to kids who would have otherwise not received a toy this holiday. This year’s donations also included toys specifically designated for children in the hurricane-affected cities including Houston, Miami, and Orlando through the NBA’s Season of Giving Initiative.
Spin Master’s “The Toy Movement” Partners with Play Africa to Distribute 45,000 Toys this Month
Spin Master expanded its global initiative, The Toy Movement, to partner with Play Africa which will distribute 45,000 toys to children in need in South Africa this holiday season. Formed in 2014 to bring joy to underprivileged children worldwide, The Toy Movement has completed missions in Mexico, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey.
The Dunk Collection Donates Dirty Dunk Laundry Hampers to Salvation Army
The Dunk Collection donated $12,600 worth of Dirty Dunk laundry hampers – an over the door basketball hoop laundry hamper – to Toy Mountain, an initiative by The Salvation Army to distribute toys to children in need in Canada.
Toys“R”Us Partners with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hispanic Organizations to Launch “Toys 4 Puerto Rico”
Toys“R”Us partnered with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Telemundo, Hispanic Federation, and R.Evolución Latina to bring 10,000 toys to the thousands of children affected by Hurricane Maria this Three Kings Day (Saturday, January 6) with the launch of Toys 4 Puerto Rico. Through Tuesday, January 2, supporters can visit Toysrus.com/Toys4PuertoRico to donate money, which will be used to purchase a suggested list of toys featured on the website.
Wicked Cool Toys Teams with Former Yankee Player Jorge Posada to Deliver Toys to Hurricane-Affected Children in Puerto Rico
Wicked Cool Toys has teamed up with Laura and Jorge Posada, founders of the Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Foundation, to donate more than 10,000 toys to children in Puerto Rico hardest hit by Hurricane Maria. Additional toys and donations are needed for both Christmas and Three Kings Day (January 6). A fund started by the Posadas is still open for new donations through youcaring.com/lauraandjorgeposada.
Zuru Sponsors Captivating International’s Santa Fun Run to Help Children in Poverty
Earlier this month, Zuru was the Gold Sponsor of Captivating International’s Santa Fun Run in Shenzhen, China. Captivating International is an international charity focused on helping children in poverty in China, Kenya, and Nepal. Zuru’s donation will put five young women through school; another five young women through job training; provide a year’s worth of medical education and checkups for one Chinese village; go toward building two greenhouses, and provide pigs for a family to farm.
Toy companies and others within the industry are encouraged to share news about their philanthropic activities for inclusion in The Toy Association’s weekly e-newsletter, Toy News Tuesday.