Used toy drive aims to help people in high poverty neighborhood
It’s time to stock the shelves for a Santa’s workshop with a higher purpose.
A collaborative project between three area churches is collecting used toys, which will be cleaned up, repaired and sold at reasonable prices at New Life Toys, a pop-up toy store that operates during the Christmas shopping season in a neighborhood where the concentration of poverty is high and shopping options are few
But while one of its goals is to delight children with the toys, its larger mission is to give people in the area job skills, employment references and the satisfaction of providing a helpful service in the neighborhood. Participants even earn a bit of income in the process.
Used toy drive
New Life Toys is seeking donations of toys and sports equipment that are in good condition or easily fixable; it asks that stuffed animals and weapon toys not be donated.
The Democrat and Chronicle has arranged for toy drives at three area businesses:
• Laughing Gull Chocolates will accept toys from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2. It is at 1868 E. Main St., a block east of East High School.
• The Penfield location of Master Kim’s Taekwondo Institute will accept toys from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 3. It is in the Panorama Plaza at 1601 Penfield Road in Penfield.
• JackRabbits Chicken and Ice Cream, 651 Jefferson Ave. in Lightfoot Square, will collect toys noon to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. (The restaurant opens for business Thursday.)
In addition, from now through Nov. 17, toys may be donated in a bin at Parkminster Church, 2710 Chili Ave. in Chili. The bin, marked “New Life Toys,” is adjacent to a shed for collecting clothing.
How New Life Toys works
Each year, New Life Toys hires a handful of people from the Dewey-Emerson neighborhood, which has a high concentration of poverty.
The main qualification: a teachable attitude and a willingness to grow from feedback.
“We don’t ask a lot of background questions,” said Pat Fink, a retired social worker who volunteers with the program through Parkminster Church in Chili. Some of the workers may be struggling with alcohol or drug issues. “We don’t rule anything out. We want to be a program that leads people back into productive lives.”
Trainees receive initial training in late October. Some of the lessons about work, self-worth, work relationships and hope are based on the Bible. Each trainee is assigned a mentor who supports and encourages him/her throughout the program.
For the next three Saturday afternoons, the employees clean, sort and repair the toys, getting paid a stipend for their time. Incomplete or broken toys are taken to a recycling center.
Beginning the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the toys will be sold at People’s Ministry at 516 Dewey Ave. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays until Christmas. The employees receive an equal share of all of the profits from the store. And the employees can use New Life Toys as a reference for job applications.
New Life Toys is well suited for people coming out of a circumstance that has set them back — an addiction, disability, or even dealing with motherhood, said the Rev. Fritz Longabaugh, who is a part-time pastor at People’s Ministry along with James Graham.
“For people whose confidence is low, it’s a real shot in the arm,” he said.