2010 OTCA Christmas Appeal

[Hursticon]

It would be wise to keep in mind that not everyone is in a position to donate a brand new toy.

This is a completely personal decision and I'm sure that whatever is donated would be appreciated by a child less fortunate.

As STL said, no gift is too little. Every bit counts.

Agreed,

Whether a toy is 1st or 2nd hand is irrelevant by the fact that these poor kids would be lucky to receive anything at all.
I grew up on 2nd hand toys, so yeah a brand new one was certainly a surprise but I would've been just as happy with a 2nd hand toy.

I also have a personal problem with donating to International Charities, shouldn't we help out those in our own backyard first?
Just sayin'...

[Tabias Prime]

Dude I was thinking of suggesting this myself but you have already beaten me to it...not that I mind..all glory to you for going ahead with it

This isn't something that I have shared before. I use to be a Salvo( yes even down to the uniform, hat and playing in the brass band). I had a fair bit to do with the charity side of the Salvos and the biggest problem we would run into at this time of year when sorting presents for the kids, would be sever lack of toys for boys for the ages between 7 and 12. This would be a great gape filler for the Salvos because what would happen is they would have to go out and purchase toys for this group that gets missed...this is a big chunk out of their yearly budget for this time of year...Also the Salvos are easily accessible in each of our perspective states...

Just a insiders perspective on the Salvos...and I hope it helps..

[gamblor916]

I would be glad to help out but who's organising things?

[Seraphim Prime]

Whether a toy is 1st or 2nd hand is irrelevant by the fact that these poor kids would be lucky to receive anything at all.

I just raise it, because it's how I see the topic - similar to your opionion of international charities quoted below - and know that some organisations actually won't accept second-hand toys for that very reasons that I shared. Can Tabias clarify?

And by new toy, I'm not saying a voyager or a deluxe necessarily. As STL has said it could be a Legends TF, one of the small Lego sets, a larger Lego set that goes on clearance. These are things that could be easily provided by sacrificing a bought lunch or a cup of coffee.

I also have a personal problem with donating to International Charities, shouldn't we help out those in our own backyard first?
Just sayin'...

That's cool. No one else had made a suggestion, and Christmas Child is one I've helped out with a few times before. I see you're point about helping our backyard, but from a global perspective our backyard has it easier than many billions of people living internationally. Not to say that it's easy, but that other people have it harder, and would also appreciate some help.

There will always be needs in our own backyard, and if we focus just on them, then there are many more people who will not recieve any help at all, simply because they were not fortunate enough to be born in Australia.

Just my own thoughts on the subject.

[Gutsman Heavy]

I've no issue in donating a new toy, I'm interested to know if there's a charity that I can donate my unwanted TFs that will actually go to children as opposed to being sold for $1.50 in the op shop

[Hursticon]

I just raise it, because it's how I see the topic - similar to your opionion of international charities quoted below - and know that some organisations actually won't accept second-hand toys for that very reasons that I shared. Can Tabias clarify?

And by new toy, I'm not saying a voyager or a deluxe necessarily. As STL has said it could be a Legends TF, one of the small Lego sets, a larger Lego set that goes on clearance. These are things that could be easily provided by sacrificing a bought lunch or a cup of coffee.

Interesting that some organisations wont accept 2nd hand toys, I didn't know this.
I do know that soft toys filled with foam beans and the like, can't be sold for obvious health and safety reasons.

What I'd maybe suggest though, is that if people wish to donate 2nd hand toys, then don't donate anything that is broken or missing key bits like limbs - there was nothing more frustrating as a kid rifling through the toy areas of my local OP Shops, often overflowing with stuffed toys , only to find a cool figure, TF or not, that was missing a leg or an arm.

Indeed, I agree that new toy donations don't have to be Supreme, Leader, Voyager or Deluxe as anything is better than nothing, but I also understand that some aren't even able to afford the lesser scale figures, especially if they've kids of their own.

I just think that there should be options because I think what can deter people from donating things is being told unreasonably what they can and can't donate, I'm not suggesting anyone is doing that just that I was brought up with the belief that one must be thankful for what they are given and not to bite the hand that feeds you.

That's cool. No one else had made a suggestion, and Christmas Child is one I've helped out with a few times before. I see you're point about helping our backyard, but from a global perspective our backyard has it easier than many billions of people living internationally. Not to say that it's easy, but that other people have it harder, and would also appreciate some help.

There will always be needs in our own backyard, and if we focus just on them, then there are many more people who will not recieve any help at all, simply because they were not fortunate enough to be born in Australia.

Just my own thoughts on the subject.

I agree that there are others around the world that need help and I know that Australians are generally better off, but then we have fought that privilege and some have unfortunately fallen through the cracks, hence why I believe that we should look locally first.

I think the suggestion Seraphim is certainly not without merit though, I feel sorry for those over in Africa who live under oppressive regimes and those who are affected by natural disasters - but maybe seems this is more or less our first drive, per say, maybe we should take Baby steps first?

In the end though I think the idea of donations is a bloody top suggestion and what ever the majority decides to do, I'm with them.

[Burn]

I'm all for it. I'm also with Hursticon in that i'd rather see it stick to a dedicated Australian charity group for the simple fact i'd rather help out my own country first before reaching out overseas.

Toy ... money ... whoever's organising it just tell me where to send whatever's needed.

And when it's all over, I think we should get photos of everything being handed over and then spread it around the various international sites to encourage them.

[Saintly]

are we doing this state by state?

[STL]

Thanks for all the feedback and support. I wasn’t sure how it would be received but the positive feedback really reminds me of what a great community we have here.

I would be glad to help out but who's organising things?

I’m chucking up my hand for this, I did bring it up after all. But if anyone else is keen on helping out too, let me know. Especially if you have an idea for a charity you’d like to liaise with in your own state.

I’m going to have a chat with Orana Family Services’ Foster Care department this week. Also, if anyone has any ideas on an organisation, feel free to suggest.

Dude I was thinking of suggesting this myself but you have already beaten me to it...not that I mind..all glory to you for going ahead with it

No glory at all. Only satisfaction we can all share if we do this. This is about all of us knuckling down and its great to see that I wasn’t the only one thinking of this b/c one of my worries was there just might not be any interest to support the idea.

This isn't something that I have shared before. I use to be a Salvo( yes even down to the uniform, hat and playing in the brass band). I had a fair bit to do with the charity side of the Salvos and the biggest problem we would run into at this time of year when sorting presents for the kids, would be sever lack of toys for boys for the ages between 7 and 12. This would be a great gape filler for the Salvos because what would happen is they would have to go out and purchase toys for this group that gets missed...this is a big chunk out of their yearly budget for this time of year...Also the Salvos are easily accessible in each of our perspective states...

Just a insiders perspective on the Salvos...and I hope it helps..

Part of what I’m thinking when I use the term under-service is organisations that would otherwise not even have the money to give something. That’s why I’m thinking of more smaller organisations that may not be as well known or serviced.

I will keep this in mind though. I know guys from the Salvation Army and may contact them down the line for some other groups they’d like to reach out to but just don’t have the resources or we might even just work through them.

As for other organisations to support, it's a little late for this year, but for future years can I suggest Operation Christmas Child. That way we will have one Australian charity and one international charity? Basically the idea is you fill a shoebox with gifts appropriate for a certain child, then Samaritan's Purse will distribute them to people in the developing world (like Ethiopia, Burma, etc) who would not otherwise receive presents.

I also have a personal problem with donating to International Charities, shouldn't we help out those in our own backyard first?
Just sayin'...

On the issue of contributing to international charities, I am more than partial to the idea. We live in a shared world and to be able to share with not only our local communities but the global community would be an amazing achievement. That said, I do agree that our first focus should be local. My vision for this was to eventually support an appeal in each state if we could. Eventually if we got large enough, my hope was we could look beyond our shores. An alternative is we could alternate each year and focus on a different charity – domestic or international. But in the immediacy, I’d like to keep our focus local.

are we doing this state by state?

Not yet but as I alluded to above, that’s my vision for an annual OTCA Christmas appeal eventually. This year, I want to start with two states and position ourselves. Once we’ve been able to deliver and have relationships in place, it’s easier to contact more organisations and expand b/c we have a track record. I also am worried about stretching ourselves too thin early on and achieving not very much. Part of my thinking is to feel our way about and make sure we’re comfortable with the whole process.

I've got some tf's I'd be willing to give away. Does loose matter? Otherwise I've got some other stuff still sealed I can give away.

I've a lot of TFs that I haven't been able to/to lazy to sell. Not new but in good condition, would they be alright?

I’m really, really glad you guys have brought this up. The issue of secondhand toys is something that’s crossed my mind too but I wasn’t sure if I should bring that up in this initial discussion just b/c we’re still trying to get the charity off the ground. I’ve been trying to think of the best use of this concept b/c I know we as collectors will come to a stage where there are toys we just have no use for anymore.

I have a few thoughts. My first one is potentially liasing with children’s playgroups in local areas around the country and seeing how amenable they might be to receiving secondhand toys. This would be a great way for us to be green as well as prolong the use of our toys. I’m more than happy to serve as an intermediary and establish contact with certain organisations.

Another alternative is one that requires more work is setting up a little “Transformers” playgroup. Run it once a week on a weekend for families to bring their kids in to watch Transformers, play with transformers – which would be secondhand ones. This would be a great little way to interact with our communities and give something back. Something kids could look forward to and spark their imagination. It is harder though. We’d need a space to rent. Regulatory requirements would be needed as well and volunteers too.

Thirdly, we can recycle the toys as long as they are in good condition and simply repackage them. In this, I mean, we buy say a gift box, print off instructions and put it nice inside and gift wrap it. I’m not so sure about this yet though. As much as I’d like to think people would be happy just to receive a gift, I feel that in our first year of donating we don’t want to be seen as donating secondhand toys largely. I think this is a great way for it to evolve down the line but in our first year, where we want to make a footprint and show the organisations we want to work with that we are deeply committed, having to explain the secondhand toys are in good nick just makes it a little harder in my opinion.

In any event, I do believe this idea is definitely worth revisiting but let’s think of what is the best way to approach this in the new year. For the moment, let’s focus on Christmas 2010. But many thanks to all who brought this up!

As mentioned above, by the end of the week I hope to at least settle one of the charity’s details so that I share it here. I’m also going to contact Australia Post and see if there is some sort of options they might have for non-profit accounts. This way, any of you guys interstate don’t have to pay as much or I can help bear that cost. I’ll keep you all posted as soon as I know.

Thanks for all the support so far. And any other questions or comments, please keep them coming!

[1AZRAEL1]

Well I think we should, instead of everyone sending something individually, maybe have someone nominate themselves for each state, or at least local, like a collection at a meet up or something, then sending it all off at once to the charity. Would save on Postage at least a little bit to send in bulk. That being said, I know there are some sort of thing that can be set up with AusPost for charities, but you would probably need to get permission off the charity, as well as alot of paperwork and such to do, that it may not be viable to get it done in time for this Xmas. Next one for sure would be a great idea.

As for second hand toys, probably best to keep that on the back burner for the time being, but well worth a look into next year I reckon.

And now that I know we are doing this, every so often when there is a sale on, I know myself and a number of others will probably pick some stuff up through the year, and post it off to what charity we will do for Xmas.

Dunno about you guys, but I get a good feeling out of helping others out, so I am all for it. And I don't mind if I am the collection person for NSW/Sydney people to send off stuff when we figure out who we are going with.