St Elizabeth Hospice is urging parents and pre-schools to dig out the playthings children no longer use and hand them in during its 2011 Toy Amnesty.
Following the success of St Elizabeth Hospice’s Toy Story 3-inspired amnesty last year, the charity is holding a similar campaign during September, in the hope they will get even more donations.
Toys can be taken to any of St Elizabeth Hospice’s 13 shops across Suffolk or its Ipswich distribution centre during September.
The aim is to get parents having an end of summer holidays clear-out to hand in the toys children have outgrown.
And once the school term starts, they are also encouraging Suffolk pre-schools and playgroups to hold their own mini-collections and hand over donations in bulk to the Hospice.
The donated toys will be sold in special toy sections of the shops across Suffolk from October half term, to raise money for the charity, which costs £6.6m a year to run.
Jason Rudderham, the Hospice’s retail sales manager, said: “As the school holidays come to a close many parents will be having an end of summer clear out and we would ask them to dig out any unused good quality toys and donate them to us. We would also like playgroups and pre-schools to get involved and hold their own mini-amnesties.
“We will put the toys on sale in our shops and all funds raised will help the Hospice continue to provide its services free of charge to patients and their families.”
Donations of broken or incomplete toys cannot be accepted.
The Hospice has 13 shops in Suffolk, including six in Ipswich and others at Woodbridge, Saxmundham, Felixstowe, Leiston, Hadleigh, Framlingham and Stowmarket. Toys can also be donated to the Hospice’s distribution centre in Rapier Street, on the Riverside Industrial Estate, Ipswich, where there is plenty of parking. Click here to find your nearest shop
The Toy Amnesty follows a successful Heels for Hospice campaign in July which led to hundreds of pairs of donated shoes being resold in the charity’s shops.