Above: (l-r) Audra Strickland, 37th District Assembly Woman, hands a bag to AnnMarie Siciliano, 5/07/2010. photo by John McCoy
More than 125 volunteers came together on Friday for the Second Annual Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) and My Stuff Bags Foundation “Do Good Stuff-a-Thon,” held at the My Stuff Bags volunteer center in Westlake Village, Calif. The volunteers included staff from companies such as Disney, JAKKS Pacific, Educational Insights, and more; representatives of TIF and My Stuff Bags Foundation boards of directors; California State Senator Curren Price; and State Assembly Members Fiona Ma and Audra Strickland.
The 5,000 duffel bags (filled with toys, toiletries, handmade blankets, and other items) will be distributed to shelters and foster care agencies across the nation, including California’s Bienvenidos; Florida’s Kids Central, Inc.; New York’s Steuben County Department of Social Services, and Texas’ A World for Children.
“So many children rescued from terrible environments enter shelters with absolutely nothing: no special blanket or stuffed animal to distract them from their pain,” said Janeen Holmes, president and CEO of My Stuff Bags in a press release. “Through this incredible day of combined efforts, and the generosity of TIF and the toy industry, thousands of these lonely children will have special ‘stuff’ to play with––and the tangible proof, through a My Stuff Bag, that they have not been forgotten.”
TIF has made a minimum two-year commitment to provide $400,000, as well as 50,000 new toys to the My Stuff Bags Foundation via The Toy Bank.
For more information on the Do Good Stuff-A-Thon, visit www.toyindustryfoundation.org.
(l-r) Larry Lynn takes My Stuff Bags from Josh Eady,13. 5/07/2010. photo by John McCoy
125 toy industry volunteers and others gathered to fill 5,000 My Stuff duffel bags. 5/07/2010. photo by John McCoy
