Toy Industry Foundation – Toy Fair 2014

Good News is happy to speak to Jean Butler, Executive Director of the Toy Industry Foundation. We were introduced to her by our friends at Hugg-A-Planet. The Toy Industry Foundation Mission is:
Our mission is to bring joy, comfort and learning to children in need through the experience of toys and play. Established in 1961, and relaunched by the Toy Industry Association in 2003, we represent the North American toy industry’s efforts to impact the lives of children who are in need due to poverty, homelessness, abuse and neglect, kids with parents in the military, children undergoing treatment for cancer and other illnesses, families suffering from natural disasters, and children with special needs.
With the support of the toy industry, including toy manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and licensors, as well as the general public, we were proud to improve the quality of life formore than 3 MILLION children in 2013 alone!
How do we accomplish our mission?:
• We provide more than one million brand new toys for children in need annually
• We distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding to children’s charities annually
• We establish partnerships with national organizations to impact special populations of children in need
Learn more about what we do every day, or see a year’s worth of impact by watching our video, viewing the TIF 2012 Annual Report, 2012 990, or our audited financials.
The TIF Team
Meet the team that puts our passion into action!
• Board of Trustees
• TIF Staff
Why Play Matters
The stress and trauma of military life, foster care, poverty, cancer treatments, and the aftermath of natural disasters have profound effects on children’s physical and emotional well-being. When a child is given a new toy, they feel special. They are reminded that someone out there cares about them and wants them to feel loved, and they take pride in owning something brand new that is theirs alone.