This year, due to sanitary criteria, many of the initiatives are focused on new items
This Christmas many of the traditional toy collections have been transformed, for security reasons, towards the donation of new, unused toys. The spirit is the same: that all children have their gift, but bartering and donations of used toys lose prominence.
Even so, there are still entities that collect, clean and distribute second-hand toys. It is important that you donate toys in good condition, that they have all their parts and that they are in their original packaging or in a closed bag separated from other toys. These are some of the initiatives underway:
New toy collection campaigns
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To field. It has launched its traditional campaign ‘No child without a toy’ which is held in 79 hypermarkets and supermarkets. As they indicate, it is important that they be new toys, because due to the hygiene and safety measures linked to the health crisis, they cannot manage used toys in good condition, as in previous years.
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Red Cross Youth. Launches its annual campaign to collect new toys and financial donations through the
Web page. They propose to collaborate by donating from 3 euros so that the most vulnerable children can enjoy a new, non-war and non-sexist toy. In addition to traditional transfer methods, they also accept Bizum.
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Magi of Truth. It is a non-profit project in which hundreds of people collaborate selflessly to return the illusion to children, the elderly and people without resources through a gift from Kings. The volunteers or pages are in charge of buying exactly the gift that they have requested in their letter to the Three Wise Men and for the delivery they are organized by delivery area or through a ‘Coordinating Queen Magician’.
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Diocesan Caritas. It is common for many parish centers in different dioceses to organize, through Caritas, toy collection drives. Normally these initiatives are carried out by the young people of the parishes, who act as pages for the Magi collecting the toys that will later be distributed to needy families in the area, assisted by Caritas, so that in those homes there is no lack of hope of the little ones.
Used toy donation
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Bulletin board. In collaboration with more than 50 charitable associations, foundations and NGOs throughout Spain, the
Solidarity Letter to the Magi aims to give the little ones the opportunity to learn to be supportive by helping other less fortunate children to have a gift this Christmas by donating the toys they no longer use.
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Play therapy. They have specialized in the donation of consoles and video games to children who are hospitalized. If your child is going to get a new console this Christmas, feel free to clean and send the old one for free so that other children can be distracted and play during their convalescence.
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Bene Bene. It is a non-profit ‘app’ that connects people with solidarity organizations. It works like a notice board in which the person publishes a photo of the toy or the object that he wants to donate, and the solidarity organizations that are interested contact him to organize the collection.
There are numerous non-profit organizations that work collecting used toys and belongings for sale second-hand or donation to families without resources. All help is little given the growing need. Do not hesitate to contact the organizations that work in your area to find out how to collaborate.
Christmas, also in this Covid year, is a time of solidarity. Gifts can be a time to start turning things around with different proposals. For example, Unicef proposes its Blue Gifts, aid vouchers on behalf of the person to whom you want to give the gift for children with serious health and nutritional deficiencies from all over the world. There are also other organizations, such as Intermón Oxfam, that propose solidarity or fair trade gifts; and you can also go to solidarity markets, local, artisans who are trying to get ahead despite the severe crisis.
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