At 4pm today as the 2010 Toy Fair exhibitors tear down their booths, you’ll suddenly spot a sea of fluorescent orange: Dozens of volunteers from the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) are collecting toys for charity—but not just any charity. This year, the children of Haiti who endured a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010 will be the recipients of the toy industry's random act of kindness. I asked Foundation Manager Amanda McDorman to give me the latest on how TIF is restoring hope, and perhaps even a little happiness, to the little ones of Haiti—one free toy at a time.
Michelle Burford: How is the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) helping out with the Haitian relief effort this year?
Amanda McDorman: At the end of the show today, the Toy Industry Foundation—which is the philanthropic arm of the North American Toy Industry Association (TIA)—is collecting toys for Haitian children, as well as for the Toy Bank, a year-round product donation program. Today’s toy collection at the fair is the largest in-person collection event. About 85 volunteers will hit the floor to collect the toys from exhibitors’ booths, starting at 4:01pm!
MB: How many toys does TIF typically collect?
AM: Each year, we end up with between $250,000 and $300,000 in fair market value worth of toys. We usually give them to various charities, but with the recent devastation in Haiti, we decided that we wanted to be part of that relief effort this year. Our charity partner is Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S), and they’ve helped us recruit the volunteers and handle logistics on the ground. Even before the quake, K.I.D.S. was already doing work in Haiti, like donating blankets and children’s clothing—but not toys necessarily. Obviously, everyone’s first priority is to make sure that the Haitian people can get food and clothing. So in March—once the first round of necessities has been addressed--we will send a portion of the toys that are collected today to Haiti.
MB: Why is it important to for kids to have toys to play with amid such a crisis?
AM: Many of these kids lost their parents in the earthquake, and I think that play is going to be particularly important in providing these children with comfort and sense of normalcy. A toy can become a trusted friend, a safety blanket, and after a trauma, toys can bring back the everyday joy. In some of the news footage I’ve viewed about Haiti, I’ve noticed that the kids are the ones who are still running around or dancing in the streets. It’s a reminder that, even though they’re handling this tragedy, they’re still kids—and we want to make sure that these kids have toys.
MB: Won't the volunteer collectors be wearing some insane shade of orange?
AM: Yes! They’ll be wearing these ridiculously orange shirts so that you can’t miss them on the floor! We’ve recently re-designed our shirt to celebrate a milestone we hit in late 2009: 50 million dollars worth of toys have been donated to the Toy Bank since its inception. We’re excited to share that with everyone, because it says a lot about what the toy community does for kids in need.
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