How to start a Toy Shelf in your community
It is my dream to have as many Toy Shelves as there are Food Shelves. Even though toys are not a necessity I believe all children should have them. And some children have so many the parents don't know where to put them.
To get started I visited City Hall to find out if I needed a special permit. I did not, but they liked the idea and offered me space for toy collection boxes at City Hall and our Community Center. The owner of Specialty Floral in North St. Paul offered me space in the back of her store to set up The Toy Shelf. My good friend liked the idea too so we formed a partnership.
We purchased 2 big red plastic bins and decorated them with stickers. We taped baggies inside for the purpose of holding our fliers. We advertised in our local newspaper, local utility bill and word of mouth. Toys have been coming in ever since. We wash the toys, put batteries in, and try to make sure all pieces are there.
We keep a card on each of our guests and date it each time they visit in order to keep track of their visits.We also write the time on the card when they come in to shop as we try to limit them to 15 minutes.
We get lots of children's books so we offer some per family and we do not count them as one of their gifts.
We have a special shelf for items that may be more appropriate for the parents than the children so we offer up to 4 items from this shelf to the adults.
We have several people who have volunteered to help with our project. Each person signs up for a 2 hour shift on Tuesday or Thursday. If you would like to start a toy shelf in your area please contact us at toylady@thetoyshelffree.org if you have any questions.
To get started I visited City Hall to find out if I needed a special permit. I did not, but they liked the idea and offered me space for toy collection boxes at City Hall and our Community Center. The owner of Specialty Floral in North St. Paul offered me space in the back of her store to set up The Toy Shelf. My good friend liked the idea too so we formed a partnership.
We purchased 2 big red plastic bins and decorated them with stickers. We taped baggies inside for the purpose of holding our fliers. We advertised in our local newspaper, local utility bill and word of mouth. Toys have been coming in ever since. We wash the toys, put batteries in, and try to make sure all pieces are there.
We keep a card on each of our guests and date it each time they visit in order to keep track of their visits.We also write the time on the card when they come in to shop as we try to limit them to 15 minutes.
We get lots of children's books so we offer some per family and we do not count them as one of their gifts.
We have a special shelf for items that may be more appropriate for the parents than the children so we offer up to 4 items from this shelf to the adults.
We have several people who have volunteered to help with our project. Each person signs up for a 2 hour shift on Tuesday or Thursday. If you would like to start a toy shelf in your area please contact us at toylady@thetoyshelffree.org if you have any questions.
