In honor of World Doll Day (the 2nd Saturday of June), Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter is hosting the second annual doll and toy drive! Our toy drive is supporting the Marillac St. Vincent Christmas Store. Serving the Chicagoland area for over 60 years, the Marillac St. Vincent Christmas Store came into my life a few years ago, when my mom and I started donating toys in honor of a kindhearted friend and co-worker who passed far too soon.
World Doll Day Logo
Last year, we were able to donate over 50 toys to the Christmas Store thanks to your support, as well as the support of the Pullip and Dal Doll Lovers Event. Let’s try to reach that again this year! I hesitate to set a ‘donation goal’, because anything will be appreciated, but if we, together, can make 50+ kids happy this holiday season, I think we’ll have done a wonderful thing. And I’d like to think that this sort of wonderful thing is just what Mildred Seeley had in mind when starting World Doll Day. So, the details…
What is the Christmas Store, you ask? Every year Marillac St. Vincent Family Services invites parents, grandparents, and child guardians that they serve throughout the year, to sign up for the Christmas Store. On the Saturday before Christmas, registered families get to “shop” for toys, stocking stuffers, books, games, clothes, and stuffed animals for each of their children, have their gifts wrapped, and finally, leave with a full bag of food – enough to make a big meal on Christmas day, complete with a turkey!
The Christmas Store is a fun shopping experience for parents and grandparents, giving them agency to choose the toys that best suit their children’s interests. Their Christmas store serves over 250 families, which accounts for 800-1100 children, who may not have received holiday presents otherwise.
What I like about this cause is that children, because their caregiver is handpicking their presents, will receive a truly personalized gift, as opposed to one that they may not care for. With this set up, Marillac St. Vincent’s Christmas Store puts the power of choice in the parents, grandparents or caregivers hands, which is far more empowering than receiving a generic donation, in my opinion!
What is Marillac St. Vincent’s looking for? New, in box dolls and toys for ages 0-12. Per their request, they’d prefer not to receive weapon type toys, but everything else is fair game. Marillac has an Amazon Wishlist available, if you need ideas. With Toys R Us going out of business, this is a great time to keep an eye out for sales! You never know what treasures you’ll find at a price that doesn’t break the bank! Remember, though, this is for new or inbox toys only. (There are probably exceptions to the rule, like if you have a like new American Girl or something you’d like to donate. If you do, just e-mail me and we can discuss if it would be right for this drive!)
How can you donate? I’ve opened up a special mailbox for donations! This isn’t a PO box, so you’re not limited to certain mail carriers. The shipping address is:
Dolly Confessions
2413 W. Algonquin Rd
PMB #147
Algonquin, IL 60102
United States
I realize shipping can be pricey, especially if you’re located outside of the US. If you’re interested in helping with the drive, but can’t support it with a physical doll or toy, consider sending a gift card to Amazon. You can send a virtual gift card to taps1223(AT)sbcglobal(DOT)net. Please, title your e-mail with TOY DRIVE DONATION/Your Initials. Of course, you can also send a gift card via snail mail to the special donation mailbox. Please put your mailing address inside the package, envelope or e-mail, so I can send a thank you card to you! World Doll Day is June 5th, but I have the mailbox for six months, so if you need a little extra time to send in your donation, that’s fine!
For tax purposes, save those receipts! If you need an official donation receipt, let me know and I can work on getting one from Marillac for your records. If you have questions, feel free to e-mail me or message me. Thank you for considering donating to this cause in honor of World Doll Day.
AdvertisementsMay 1, 2018. Tags: World Doll Day. Uncategorized.
