"Ever since my kids were little I have, every October or November, cleaned out their toy closet of all the little used toys and games. I then pack them up and take them to the Salvation Army.
For me this accomplishes a couple of things:
1. I feel good that parents, who might not have a lot of money, will be able to purchase toys for their children for Christmas and
2. my house gets a little cleaner before the onslaught of new items the holidays will bring.
So, a couple of weeks ago I did my cleaning and packed everything up and went to the Salvation Army. The gentleman checking in the items saw that I had toys and said that they were no longer accepting them. It seems that in our government’s wisdom to protect our children from the dangers of lead poisoning they have put the Salvation Army and others like them at a disadvantage. The gentleman I spoke with said that they now have a big book of toy listings and that they must go thru that book for every toy they receive to make sure that there is no lead danger. It was taking them so long to do this that they made the decision to stop accepting toy donations at all! I went home and told my husband about it and he then called Goodwill and they have done the same thing.
This has been haunting me for the last couple of weeks and I don’t know what to do about. I feel sick that many children won’t have the opportunity to receive toys this year because of this new rule.
I’d like to hear from your readers about other options of where to take toy donations or perhaps we (your readers) can begin some type of toy drive?
I hope you will post this.
Sincerely,
Michelle Wainwright"
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
8 comments:
Thank you for your post ma'am.
I know 3 very under privileged children in the area, they are not going to be receiving much of a Christmas.
Would it be possible for you to send Joe your email address and/or phone and hopefully this toys could be given to them for Christmas this year.
You can always do freecycle. I have given away many unneeded things in this manner. And people come to you to get them, no wasting gas and your items go directly to who needs them.
Pack up the trunk with the old toys..go to Mall/Walmart/Dollar Store.....observe the inevitable young families trying to corral their toddlers to get expensive groceries with Christmas on the horizon...make eye contact-say "Hi"-shake hands....donate directly to your new "friends." The greatest of deeds are done informally and without the need of middlemen/capricious legislation (These days "The Good Samaritan" would probably be tried for practicing medicine without a license....)
If you have a church, you might offer a freecycle-style event at the church. Or a child care center. Homeless shelter.
In front of your house with a "Free" sign. Rent a table at the Flea Market and give them away.
Possibilities....
Use Joes classified adds.
What about putting them aside for the local Toys For Tots drive that local businesses will be doing this holiday season.
Also..Check with the Life Crisis Center here. So many times, women and children show up there with nothing but the clothes on their backs because they had to sneak away in the middle of the night or while an abusive partner was at work to go there to have a safe haven to stay.
Contact Cakes by David, 745 S Division Steet in Salisbury. The Wharton's are wonderful people who go above and beyond to give back to our community. They are constantly contacted by Life Crisis, school nurses, and other community members who let them know when there is a child in need. They accept donations of toys and clothes year round.
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