Providing for children in need all year round
Some children have all the toys they could wish for, whilst others don’t have anything to play with, or anything soft and fluffy to cuddle. That’s why Islington-based charity workers Jane Garfield and Angela Donovan founded the Toy Project, a charity that began five years ago.
The Toy Project has a shop on the high street in Archway and an office in Finsbury Park. The shop is quaint and filled with toys, every kids dream, there is such a friendly atmosphere.
The Charity, which began in 2013, was started through the founders’ passion to solve a problem that needed fixing. “I noticed that so many kids had many toys, whilst many others didn’t have enough,” said Garfield.
Islington is a borough with a high rate of child poverty. “Despite its reputation for affluence, poverty is a significant problem in the borough, with over a third of people living in poverty (33.7% compared to 27% across London). Child poverty is high here as well, with Tower Hamlets the only borough with a higher rate than Islington (and Westminster),” according to London’s Poverty Profile, an independent source on data and poverty in the capital, run by the Trust For London.
The Project receives donations daily. “It’s usually busy, 10 bags were donated this morning. Donations are mainly local the Islington borough,” said Garfield.
All toys received by the project are recycled. The toys are either given to children in need or they are sold to raise money for the project. Some toys are sold in the Toy Project’s store, with all proceeds put back into the project, either by buying toys for children in need or just to keep the project running.
Not all the toys are second-hand. Some are new, as the Project receives donations from hundreds of toy companies.
New toys are given for birthdays and Christmas and throughout the rest of the year used toys are given.
The Toy Project provides toys for individuals as well as charities, charities such as Sistah Space, Pram Depot and Women’s Shelter to name a few. The Toy Project restocked the Grenfell nursery after the tragic Grenfell fire.
The Project finds out about children in need through referrals and through various avenues such as head teachers, social workers, community support workers and even individual referrals. There are no forms to complete.
The toys that are to be given to children are not given at the shop. On Mondays the shop is closed, as this when the office is open to children who attend are welcome to choose what they would like. Jane said: “We don’t turn anyone away.”
With the charity’s aim being to provide all children in need with toys, donations are also given to dads in prisons such as Pentonville and Wormwood Scrubs. This is so that they can give their children gifts at Christmas.
The prison service provides a list of children’s gender and age. Presents are prepared and then collected, ready for a special visiting day during the Christmas season. Jane expressed the desire to make the gift giving more personal, by getting information from dads: “What would they like to give to give their children?”
Although based in London, the Toy Project does not just supply toys for those in the capital but all over the world, in countries such as the Caribbean and India. It is not only toys that the charity provides, but books too. They opened a library in Grenada, and continue to send barrels of books.
“I love seeing kids who have nothing, receive something. They can’t believe it is for them. K ids have asked: can I keep this forever? Sometimes they cry.” Jane said that this aspect of giving was one of the best things about her job.
Jane waved down a family who had been looking for a scooter. She encouraged the little girl to test it out, to see if they would like to buy it at a greatly reduced rate. The woman explained that the child would be going to India so she wouldn’t buy it as they wouldn’t carry it to India. Jane said “Just borrow it, and bring it back before she goes.” The happiness of the child seemed to be what was most important.
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