Blog
The staff and children of Trinidad Head Start on West Sedgeley Ave. in North Philadelphia put on a great holiday songfest on Tuesday, December 22. Second Chance Toys of PA staff were on hand for the festivities and helped out by making sure that each and every child went home with a great holiday toy! Santa made an appearance and a GREAT time was had by all! Ho! Ho! Ho!
Cara (age 16) and Kyle Scott (age 18), co-founders of Second Chance Toys of PA, wish to thank all who have contributed to the spectacular growth of our grass roots organization. We rely on the kindness of friends, strangers and anyone who is willing to just help. The result? In 2 and ¼ years, we have been able to keep out of the landfill over 7,000 great, gently used plastic toys. Better yet, we have delivered these “just like new†toys to deserving kids throughout our community. What could be better? A Win for the Environment. A Win for the Kids. A Win for Meeting Great People like YOU who have been willing to pitch in and help! Thank you so much!
The holiday toy drive conducted by students, teachers, staff and parents of Mill Creek Elementary School in Warrington, PA literally filled the Second Chance Toys truck (lent by our partners at 1-800-Got-Junk?) on Friday December 11. What an amazing haul by this spirited community. Toys collected were distributed to Bucks County Head Start in Morrisville, PA, the Samuel Everitt and Walter Miller Elementary Schools, in Levittown, PA, and Little Kids College and the Howley School in Trenton, NJ. Hey Mill Creek -- Thanks for doing so much to help so many kids and protect our environment!
For several years now, 1-800-Got-Junk? franchisees have been volunteering their manpower, time and trucks to pick up and deliver toys collected all over New Jersey. Many thanks go to New Jersey franchisees, Drew Trautman, Doug Martin and Jim Barnett for all their help and hard work. They picked up, carried, loaded, hauled, unloaded toys from locations in ten counties, and delivered 5,564 toys to 20 organizations that care for children in need. As a result of their volunteered time and energy, many children received toys for the holidays! We are sincerely grateful for their support and commitment to helping children and the environment. Pictured is Drew Trautman, picking up toys collected by students of Evergreen School.
Once again, Investors Savings Bank branches served as drop off locations for Second Chance Toys’ New Jersey collection. A total of 5,564 toys were collected from the 65 participating branches and their headquarters! Pictured are employees at Investors Savings Bank Headquarters with some of the gently used plastic toys donated.
Thanks to all our friends and partners from the community, Second Chance Toys rescued and donated nearly 10,000 toys for children in need this holiday season. Together we are truly helping to make a difference in the lives of others as well as our planet earth. Visit us again in March 2010 for more information about our Earth Week toy drive.
The Mendham Cooperative Nursery School conducted its second annual Second Chance Toy drive in December 2009. The small preschool in Mendham, New Jersey has a big heart and a history of giving back to the community. It collected over 70 gently used plastic toys, which will be sent to children in Honduras. What a great way, especially during the holidays, for the school’s little ones to learn about recycling and giving to other children.
Junior Girl Scout troop 42724 out of St. Celestine School in Elmwood Park, Illinois are pictured here organizing the hundreds of gently used plastic toys that they collected for the Austin YMCA in the Chicago area. The YMCA was so grateful for the wonderful toys that made the holidays brighter for so many children!! Members of the troop include Judi Aldape, Hayley Ashby, Elizabeth Ptack, Jessica Lococo, Arlisse Lim, Samantha and Laruen Hiatt-Wilson, and Erika Balce.
Evergreen Elementary School held their annual holiday collection with Second Chance Toys and collected a whopping 550 toys this year! Some of the fourth graders helped out by tagging the toys with holiday messages. Drew Trautman, 1-800-Got-Junk? franchisee was on hand to load up the goods and bring them to Union County Social Services, which will distribute the toys to needy families for the holidays.
Members of the Newcomers-Encore Club of Millburn-Short Hills collected toys as part of their December Community Outreach initiative. Six carloads were dropped off at the Millburn branch of Investors Savings Bank for distribution this week to disadvantaged children in nearby communities.
Following the start of the 2009 annual holiday toy drive throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York City, Second Chance Toys has exceeded the 30,000 mark in the number of plastic toys rescued and donated to deserving children. Collections are still underway (through December 9, 2009), so help make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children while working to keep these toys out of our landfills. See home page for a list of drop-off locations.
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Parents and staff of Trinidad Head Start joined Second Chance Toys and 1-800-GOT-JUNK? personnel in unloading hundreds of toys for the youngsters in the center. This will be the third year of collaboration between the great folks at Trinidad and Second Chance Toys of PA. We love you. Happy holidays!
The teachers and staff at Feltonville Head Start on Rising Sun Boulevard in Philadelphia helped Second Chance Toys and 1-800-GOT-JUNK? personnel unload hundreds of great toys for the kids. The toys will be distributed during the week before Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho!
For those who may not know, the wonderful Logan Head Start location on Lindley Ave. burnt to the ground earlier this year. Now temporarily relocated in Our Lady of Hope Church in North Philadelphia, the wonderful teachers, kids and families have stayed together but need our help. Second Chance Toys delivered loads and loads of great toys to the more than 80 children at the center, which will help make the holiday season a little brighter.
Second Chance Toys of PA delivered hundreds of toys to the headquarters of Bucks County Head Start in Morrisville, PA. This center is the hub of the 9 Head Start locations in the county. Toys will now be distributed to the other Bucks County locations, so the kids can receive holiday gifts just in time!
Toys galore were delivered to the 3 and 4 year old children at Little Kids College on Monday, November 30. Great kids and great teachers and all are happy!
With continued community support and unbelievable support from the great people of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Second Chance Toys of PA continues to grow at a grass roots level. Local churches, synagogues, families and friends have helped Cara (age 16) and Kyle Scott (age 18) continue to collect more gently used plastic toys, and recycle them, by delivering the toys “good as new†to deserving kids in our community. The generosity of so many is spreading joy to lots of young faces and that is important in these trying times. Thanks to YOU, Second Chance Toys of PA has now surpassed 6,000 toys collected with many donations planned in the weeks ahead in North Philadelphia, Bucks County, Trenton, and beyond to coincide with the holiday season!
