No Toy Left Behind Project
The Pitch
Problem statement
We live on a planet with limited resources that cannot support unlimited consumerism. Everything we buy has a carbon footprint and we in the global north need to rapidly change our purchasing habits in line with the aim to lower emissions to give us a chance of staying under 1.5degree warming. For context, if everyone on our planet consumed the same amount of energy and resources as the average person does in the UK, the 19th May would be the date when the ecological resources and services consumed exceed what Earth can regenerate over a year (“Earth overshoot day”). Our culture of consumerism is not sustainable!
Solution
Our project collects old toys, which reduces waste to landfill. Our volunteers check, clean and pamper the toys so that they can be sold in our colourful & fun community toy shop. Our mission is to make buying secondhand a brilliant alternative to buying brand new and educate on the environmental impact of our purchasing choices, challenging our culture of consumerism. We are working to reduce the carbon footprint of toys. The project has a commercial aspect and our aim is to be a financially sustainable project in the long-term. Short-term however we need financial help to go towards our project costs whilst we work hard to increase footfall in the shop and launch online.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
In Autumn 2021 we successfully Crowdfunded allowing us to secure premises and launch the project in December 2021. With support from the Pippins Community Centre team and many volunteer hours collecting, checking and cleaning donated toys we officially opened to the public at the end of February 2022! We have made a fab start and are so proud of what we have achieved so far: We have had great support from our community who have donated 50 wheelie bins worth of their old toys. We have recruited a fantastic small team of 10 committed volunteers who run the shop and help with processing the donations. And we have (so far) had 412 visitors and customers - from newborns to great grandparents!
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Project manager 3 hours a week for 12 months | £1,560 |
| Educational workshops x 5 | £400 |
Beneficiaries
400 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
1. Reduce carbon footprints by making buying children's toys more environmentally sustainable. 2. Engage our community with buying secondhand instead of new: We can facilitate this via our welcoming and colourful base at Pippins community centre and marketing/media . We can spread our message further afield via our website and social media. Impact measures: Number of visitors to the shop, number of workshops held and attendees, website traffic. 3. Provide children's toys that are clean and good quality to families in financial difficulties who are referred via the food bank or other professionals/organisations. Impact measures: value of tokens given out.4. Reduce waste going to landfill/incineration. We will do this by accepting donations of broken toys and upcycling or recycling via Terracycle scheme.Impact measures: weight of recycled toys.
Track record
Volume of toys and books donated to date: 12 cubic meters = 50 wheelie bins worth !! Number of visitors and customers since launching (up to 27th May) = 1000 Number of volunteers who have been involved since our launch = 21 Number of volunteers who currently volunteer regularly = 10 Value of tokens given to Axminster Food Bank = £200 Quote: “It’s a toy explosion. A good one!”