Kids for Peace and The Toy Foundation Launch “The Great Toy Giveaway”
Kids Will Help Kids In Need As They “Play It Forward”
Carlsbad, CA | May 6, 2019 – Kids for Peace, home to The Great Kindness Challenge, is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Toy Foundation. These two nonprofit organizations are joining forces to launch The Great Toy Giveaway where thousands of toys will be lovingly distributed by kids to other kids in need throughout children’s hospitals, homeless shelters, military bases, schools and community centers.
With their overlapping missions of supporting children, this new partnership will not only bring joy to the youth receiving new toys, but to the thousands of children who will put their compassion into action as they distribute the toys. Jill McManigal, co-founder and executive director of Kids for Peace, states: “Kids have the biggest hearts and love helping others. As a youth-empowerment organization, we are always looking for ways to encourage kids to uplift the world through love and action, so when the chance to partner with The Toy Foundation came along, we enthusiastically welcomed this beautiful opportunity.”
The Great Toy Giveaway will be fueled by toy donations from the Toy Industry to schools located in CA, NY, NJ, IL, and FL. Students at those schools will be guided to identify the needs within their own communities with one goal in mind - to bring smiles and joy to kids in need. To make the project extra meaningful, students will add a personalized note of friendship to each toy delivered. At some sites, students will elevate the experience even more by not only delivering the toys, but by connecting with each other as they enjoy the toys together, truly “playing it forward.”
“As a charity that donates millions of toys to millions of children in need annually, The Toy Foundation was inspired to partner with Kids for Peace to expand their toy distribution to schools, offering a unique opportunity for kids to help other kids,” said Jean Butler, executive director of the Toy Foundation. “Peer-to-peer giving is a wonderful way to provide joy and comfort to children in need through the experience of toys and play.”
The Great Toy Giveaway will tap into the big-hearted joy of The Great Kindness Challenge, an uplifting program that empowers students to take an active role in creating a culture of kindness. Started in 2012, The Great Kindness Challenge officially launched in Carlsbad, CA with 3 schools and 1,614 students. The annual program has increased enrollment each year, mobilizing more than 13 million students in 24,027 schools, reaching across all 50 states and 115 countries this past January.
The Toy Foundation’s Toy Bank is currently accepting donations for The Great Toy Giveaway. Companies located in CA, FL, IL, NY, and NJ are especially encouraged to participate in order to save on shipping costs. For more information on where to send toys please contact Elizabeth Max today. For more information on The Great Toy Giveaway, please visit: www.GreatKindnessChallenge.org/GreatToyGiveaway.
About The Toy Foundation
The Toy Foundation (TTF) is a 501©3 children’s charity whose mission is to provide joy and comfort to children in need through the experience of toys and play. TTF serves children who are coping with serious illness, enduring temporary home placements in the foster care system, suffering from abuse or neglect, experiencing separation from a deployed military parent, or dealing with devastating natural disasters. To date, TTF’s signature program, The Toy Bank, has provided more than $200 million in toys to over 26 million children in need around the globe, thanks to its generous toy donors.
About Kids for Peace
Kids for Peace is a California-based global nonprofit that empowers kids to create peace through hands-on service, global friendships and thoughtful acts of kindness. Founded in 2006 by a mother and a Carlsbad High School honors student, Kids for Peace has now launched over 450 chapters on six continents. All Kids for Peace activities are based on the Peace Pledge, wise words written by children to inspire peace for all. www.KidsForPeaceGlobal.org
About The Great Kindness Challenge
The Great Kindness Challenge is a positive and proactive Kids for Peace program that creates a culture of kindness in schools, communities, and the world. Using a provided kindness checklist, schools and families are challenged to complete as many acts of kindness as possible. The School Edition is an annual one week challenge during the last week of January. The Family Edition is year-round. Schools and families may get involved by registering at no cost here: http://greatkindnesschallenge.org