How can i get toy stores to donate toys for a project im doing?

me and a friend are filling shoe boxes with toys and other fun things for children that have to spend christmas in the hospital, getting enough shoe boxes is no biggie, and im sure i can get a few family and friends to help out but how can i get toy stores or other sores to donate things?|||A hold-up?of course duh! ====jk==== ok first of all just ask?|||You could type up a proposal or go and talk to the managers of the stores. Let them know what you are trying to do for the holidays and who its for and then you will just have to wait for there answers. But you wont ever know unless you try.|||Write letters to the stores. Or you can go into the stores and ask to speak with the managers. Have a letter or an outline about the project ready. Also, you might try hooking up with a local church or bank or place where people in the community can drop off donations. Be specific that you want new toys, etc.


Good luck! Sounds like a great idea!|||i would try to talk to store manager and tell him what your trying to do for the children in the hospital . and hopefully you will find a generous one that would help out.|||approach the store managers with a responsible adult who will vouch for what you are doing. Or maybe get your school principal to write letters for you.|||If you contact Toys for Tots - they get tractor trailer full of gifts that don't sell, and with proper authorization you can get all you need from them. Oh, but you won't get the Jesus dolls, they sent those back to the donator.





Wal-Mart has a policy which allows store managers to use their discretion and donate merchandise. Target does not allow store managers to do the same. Meijer's (if you're in the midwest) will also support charities.





One thing that you probably need to do, though, is get "proof" that you're legitimate, either from the hospital that you intend to do this with, and get a letter from them, perhaps listing the "types" of toys that can be allowed. You might want to try to figure out what age range you're going to shoot for, since you won't know who will be in the hospital until the day that you show up (children get admitted and discharged, and we try to send all but the absolute sickest children home for the holidays - because we are short on staff as well as to help the children's holidays).





Also be aware that there will be non-Christian children, so will this be for Hannukah, too? And what about Muslim and Hindu children? You don't want to offend them - so perhaps make it more of a "December solstice" type of gift.|||It's all about the publicity, stores want and need the free publicity, get your local radio/tv stations in on the action. Call in, explain what your doing, make your plea to your neighborhood for any help they can provide.


Business is business, bottom line if it won't make them money in the long run, you would be hard pressed to find a company that would want to lose money.|||Businesses love a tax write off, hospitals do too. i'd ask the hospital first. Call everybody (businesses) there are some that just want the write off and others really care. Since you'll be asking for merchandise instead of cash your chances are MUCH better. Make sure and tell them you're not after money. A retailer that could liquidate (at full retail price as a tax write off) would be stupid not to get rid of excess inventory of slow merchandise.





My mother used to do a little fund raising for my sister's high school band..businesses love giving merchandise. Even had a skating rink give away free skating passes.





MAKE sure and send some sort of certificate or plaque etc that they can exhibit in their stores...they will greatly appreciate it and remember you next year when you come calling again.|||Ask them. Write a letter or go in person. When I adopted my daughter from Brazil years ago, I went to various stores to get supplies for the orphanage (toothbrushes, toothpaste, band-aids, diapers, etc.). Most did not give outright, but they gave a hefty discount! Even if you can't get donations, discounts would probably help -- and you might get outright gifts, esp. if you offer to put a Christmas note with a list of donors in the box. The stores see it as publicity and you see it as free donations. :-)|||If you're in Australia and find any stores that will donate, please let me know.


Im doing the same thing by making Christmas gift bags for local disabled children and emailed big chain companies and I got one reply saying they wont bother donating samples as the 'amount' of gift bags im organising isnt enough to get their name out there, how pathetic! - its for a good cause and they just dont care.


some companies didnt even write back.


Hope you have better luck :)|||Write them a letter or ask them in person. Have lots of information and be upbeat, and positive.|||Very doubtful they would be interested in helping you out, toy stores are in business for profit, not losing sales. Most toy stores have "Toys for tots" drop boxes to which purchased toys can be donated by their paying customers. Don't mean to sound discouraging, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.|||either send a "formal" letter or go to the store and ask for the manager. Make sure you sound upbeat, positive and energetic about what you're doing and make sure the message gets across. if you had offered free publicity, it'd probably make it easier though but I don't know if you can do that.