BY ANDY KEIMACH
Interim President and CEO, The Toy Associaton
As many of you know, The Toy Foundation (TTF) is the philanthropic arm of The Toy Association and is the uniting force for small, medium, and large toy companies to deliver play to children in greatest need and advance the shared values and reputation of the toy industry.
So far this year, TTF’s Toy Bank has been busy, with more than 800,000 toys already collected and placed in children’s hands. We’re extremely thankful for all your generous donations, particularly those from The Pokémon Company International and TeeTurtle. Our goal for 2024 is to collect a total of 2 million toys – but we cannot achieve this goal without your help. Donations of any size or type (financial or product) are always needed and enable us to support more children in need across the country and around the world.
Looking ahead, your product donations to the Toy Bank will be more impactful than ever before, thanks to program improvements that are allowing us to expand our reach through a network of 3,000 nonprofit partners. We can reach more low-income families, immigrant families new to the U.S., and families who have lost everything in global emergencies and natural disasters (such as the recent Texas wildfires) at a much quicker pace, to have a greater collective impact.
Earlier this month, TTF announced that $380,000 has been granted to 20 children’s hospitals and health systems in economically disadvantaged communities from coast to coast. Research has shown that access to play elevates the overall patient experience by 98% and the funds provided by TTF to these hospitals will bring play therapy to more than 240,000 children this year, including sensory toy stations, arts & crafts programs, and playroom and waiting area upgrades, among other improvements.
This marks TTF’s third annual distribution of grants supporting hospitals and pediatric patients by giving them access to toys, art, and other play therapies to help improve children’s coping skills and medical outcomes. To date, the Children’s Hospital Play Grants program has helped improve pediatric care for 360,000 children through the funding of nearly 40 play projects at hospitals nationwide. Of course, none of this would be possible without your support, and especially our programmatic sponsors Beacon Media Group, Mattel, and VTech Electronics North America.
Our commitment to pediatric patients extends to our partnership with Hope for Henry, which brings your toys donated through the Toy Bank to children’s hospitals nationwide. These toys are used to help children get through intimidating medical procedures, allowing them to pick out a new toy after completing an MRI, bloodwork, and other tests. This initiative has been shown to highly improve cooperation and reduce anxiety, creating a better experience for the child and family.
TTF’s annual fundraising events are also crucial to the overall success of our philanthropy. Typically held at the Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards, this year, TTF’s major fundraiser will be held in conjunction with The Toy Association’s LA Fall Preview dedicated market week, taking place Sept. 9-13, 2024. All proceeds will go toward TTF’s mission of creating a world where every child gets to experience the comfort, joy, and extraordinary benefits of play. We will be unveiling all the exciting details about the event in the coming days.
We recognize that so many companies in our industry are deeply committed to philanthropy, and many members have their own causes and programs that benefit children in their local communities and beyond. Our aim is to create a unique value to support your business and CSR goals, while filling any gaps in delivering toys to children who need them the most – and advancing the overall values and reputation of the toy industry.
We will see you in LA for our fundraising event and The Toy Association’s LA Fall Preview this September and look forward to advancing our mutual goal of bringing the joy of play to children around the globe.
For more information about The Toy Foundation and to make a donation, visit ToyFoundation.org.
