THE TOY PROJECT
ANNUAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2019 – NOVEMBER 2020
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2019
The TOY Project’s financial year (November 2019 – November 2020) started with the run up to Christmas and New Year which is always our busiest time of year.
In mid-November, we celebrated our 6th birthday in the midst of this busy period of donating toys to organisations and individuals, supporting and running Christmas and winter themed events in the community.
In addition to Christmas donations, provisions of toys included new toys donated to children celebrating their birthdays with Akwaaba, a social centre for migrants in Hackney, baby toys and baby equipment were donated to the Pram Depot to support new mothers and their babies and we supported a blind mum with two children under the age of two by donating sensory toys for her children to enjoy via Help On Your Doorstep.
We donated toys and board games to classrooms at St John’s Primary School. Baby toys were donated to the Royal Free Hospital. Board games, jigsaw puzzles and LEGO sets were given to The Outside Project, a charity that supports London’s LGBTIQ+ homeless community.
The TOY Project won a Highly Commended certificate for Resource Management and Recycling at the Camden and Islington Sustainability Awards 2019.
We were featured in an article in Yours magazine. Jane, one of The TOY Project’s founders, was photographed and interviewed to talk about the work that we do.
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Our toys made an impact not just to children in London and the UK.
We sent toys to the Caribbean island of Grenada to schools and initiatives supported by the Grenada National Council of the Disabled.
Our donated toys were handed out by Father Christmas at Grenada’s Down Syndrome Association Christmas party. We sent over 120 Christmas boxes filled with toys and books that were handed out to children attending schools for the disabled on the last day of term.
The pupils and staff from King Alfred School travelled to Namibia on a school trip and handed out our toys to local children.
We sent over 180 Christmas boxes filled with toys to children living on the Masaka rubbish dump in Uganda with Small Steps Project. All the toys donated in these boxes were donated by pupils, parents and staff members at Ambler Primary School and we would also like to thank volunteers from Veda London who helped us to wrap, pack and sort the presents ready to be sent off.
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One of our main initiatives every year at Christmas is preparing gift bags of toys to give as Christmas presents for children who need them.
We support a wide range of children and families in this manner including children living in difficult situations, looked after children, families who are struggling financially, young parents, children with complex needs, young carers, bereaved children and homeless families.
These children and families are referred to us for support by teachers, healthcare workers and family and community workers at organisations including schools, hospitals, local authorities, bereavement centres, migrant, refugee and women’s refuge centres, community centres and other local charities.
At Christmas 2019 we supported children and families through organisations such as Solace Women’s Aid, Help On Your Doorstep, Free from Torture, Akwaaba, Woodberry Down Children’s Centre, Islington Foodbank, Go Forward Youth, KIDS Charity via Hayward Adventure Playground, NSPCC, Olwin Kids Foundation, All in Mind, CHUMS, Honeypot, Just Home Women’s Project, Happy Baby Community, Westminster Floating Support and Sistah Space.
In addition, we supported children and families via the Whittington Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust as well as homeless families, young parents and looked after children via Camden Council and Islington Council.
The list of schools The TOY Project supported included Ambler Primary School, Montem Primary School, Duncombe Primary School, Robert Blair Primary School, Yerbury Primary School, Brookfield Primary School, Stroud Green Nursery School and The Bridge School.
Thank you to volunteers from MONAT UK who came along to The TOY Project on two volunteer days to help us wrap Christmas presents and pack up gift bags.
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All toys given as Christmas presents are new. These new toys are sourced from a number of places including donations from the general public, school, workplace and church collections, via In Kind Direct as well as donated directly from large toy companies and suppliers.
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Sylvanian Families UK donated over 500 hundred dolls houses, animals and cars.
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MONAT UK donated hundreds of stationery items and art and craft materials.
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3Style Scooters donated dozens of scooters.
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Photobox donated 600 teddy bears with printed t-shirts featuring our logo.
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Hooli donated 40 fox soft toys and canvas bags.
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Thank you to all the actors, agents and casting directors from Carolyn McLeod Casting, Spotlight UK, the Casting Society of America and others who ran a charity event in aid of The TOY Project this Christmas and organised a collection of toys and games to help support those in need this Christmas.
We would like to thank the following companies and organisations for holding toy collections on our behalf this Christmas…
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FunFair Technologies
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Clarion Housing Group
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Health Education England
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St Thomas’ Church, Finsbury Park
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Knightsbridge School
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St Thomas’s School
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Metro Bank
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Television Centre
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Cuckooz Nest
We would like to thank the family and friends of Rocco who donated new toys to The TOY Project in Rocco’s memory at Christmastime.
Arrow Valves made a generous financial donation of £1000. Arrow Valves and their director Laura Ewers have supported The TOY Project from the very beginning, and we are extremely grateful for their continued support.
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The TOY Project supported a number of Christmas and winter themed community events.
We donated gifts to Castlehaven Community Association’s Winter Festival, Manor Gardens Community Centre’s winter celebration and the Crossroads Women’s Centre’s Christmas party. We were invited to Ambler Primary School’s Winter Fair. We also supported CHUMS Charity to help make their young carers and friendship scheme feel Christmassy.
In early December, we ran the Archway Bake Off at the Archway Christmas market. Local businesses donated sweet treats for the event including Battenburg Badger who donated mince pies while local children baked cakes and sweet treats which were judged by our panel of celebrity judges with prizes awarded to the winners and runners up.
This year the Archway Bake Off judges were; actress Harriet Thorpe, singer and actor Tom Read Wilson, Ian from Map Gift Shop and our Pantomime Dame Tim McArthur.
We ran free Christmas craft activity sessions for local children to make a LEGO themed boxed frame picture present.
Thank you to volunteer Lyn for organising and running these sessions.
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December 2019 saw a record number of sales at The TOY Project shop with customers looking to find unique gifts for their loved ones at Christmas. Our Daisy Boxes – recycled toys packaged in eco friendly gift boxes – are particularly popular.
On Black Friday we ran extended opening hours until 9pm for Christmas shopping. This included a visit from Father Christmas himself, complete with snow and storytelling sessions.
The money raised in the shop supports the community in a variety of ways. The first £500 we made from the sales from our Sylvanian Families themed display in the shop window was used to purchase an iPad for a five-year-old child with a life limiting condition.
The TOY Project shop is a place for local families and children to donate their unwanted toys and the number of toys that were donated increased month on month throughout the year.
In December 2019, for the first time in six years, The TOY Project had to close for all donations of used toys until after the New Year due to so much generosity.
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Our last Christmas event of the year was the Christmas party at HMP Pentonville. The event is an opportunity for children to see their fathers in prison and we supported the event in many ways.
We provided face painting and balloon modelling activities at the event. We donated toys to be handed out to children by Father Christmas including Vtech toys and Schleich cars and animals. In addition, we provided 50 Olaf from Frozen toys, which were donated by Disney via In Kind Direct.
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JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2020
The start of a new year brought exciting changes to The TOY Project’s home at 81 Junction Road in Archway, north London. The TOY Project shop provides a space for customers to purchase toys as well as drop off donations of new and used toys.
We have seen demand for the shop increase year on year. To respond to this demand, we closed for an extended break after Christmas and New Year to allow for some exciting renovations to our shop.
Staff members, volunteers, trustees, founders and builders spent many hours hard at work extending and renovating the shop ready for reopening on the 18th January 2020.
Our new extended shop includes a dedicated baby toys section, space for a small play area, shelves for all our board games, jigsaw puzzles and other boxed toys, and a larger area to store all our books.
The money customers spend in The TOY Project shop goes straight back into the charity to cover costs to continue our purpose of recycling toys and giving them to people who need them, as well as to fund community projects and events.
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The money customers spend in The TOY Project shop goes straight back into the charity to cover costs to continue our purpose of recycling toys and giving them to people who need them, as well as to fund community projects and events.
In January we commissioned artist Dean Rudd to paint a mural at the visitor’s centre at HMP Pentonville. Visiting a family member in prison can be a scary experience for young children and we wanted to make the visitor’s centre as child friendly as possible. Dean spent two weeks creating a beautiful mural to brighten up the walls of the visitor’s centre.
After closing for donations of used toys in midDecember, we reopened for donations in our new extended shop in January. As donations of toys from the public come in, we carefully match them up with the projects and children that we support.
Our most local primary school, St John’s Primary School, run a weekly forest school where the children go to Hampstead Heath. We gave a donated den making kit to build their very own den in the woods.
We donated LEGO sets to the children’s ward at the Whittington Hospital. The LEGO sets provided children with a chance to play and learn during their stay in hospital.
Every month we give new toys to children supported by Akwaaba who are celebrating their birthdays and in February we gave Akwaaba 19 new boxed toys.
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London’s annual Toy Fair at London Olympia took place in January 2020 and our trustees and founders hosted a stall and spoke to attendees about The TOY Project.
The event attracted exhibiting toy companies, independent retailers as well as a wide range of visitors. We placed a particular emphasis on recycling toys and sustainability and were pleased to share the importance of the work that we do.
In recent years, attending the Toy Fair has provided us with an opportunity to make connections with toy companies and other organisations who now support The TOY Project.
These include Benjamin Pollocks Toyshop in Covent Garden, EasyRead Time Teacher, 3Style Scooters, Photobox and Sylvanian Families UK.
This year we met a wide range of individuals and organisations to discuss potential new partnerships with us going forward, including LongPack Games, the Museum of London, Micro Scooters, JoJo Maman Bébé, Sunipa Pictures, Selfridges, Dr Zigs, Good Play Guide and Golden Bear Toys.
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One of the children who regularly attends our weekly LEGO club, funded by the Arsenal Foundation, was interviewed for the matchday programme for an Arsenal game in January.
Arsenal arranged tickets for Luke and his family to attend an Arsenal match at the Emirates Stadium, where he was able to watch Arsenal play and see himself featured in the matchday programme.
Toys continued to support children around the world.
Toys were sent to children, families and teachers in Ghana with Nhoma, a children’s educational charity.
As part of our ‘Bunnies for India’ project, we continue to welcome volunteers who knit toy rabbits which are then handed out by volunteers to children around the world including in India and Africa.
Together with Ladies and Gents bar in Camden, we held a mindful LEGO Therapy session for adults with our trained LEGO therapist Huw.
The event featured low alcohol and nonalcoholic options for ‘Dry January’ and all proceeds from the event were donated to The TOY Project.
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The TOY Project shop continued to be bustling with activity. In February, the shop hosted a mini photoshoot when we were photographed and interviewed by the Observer magazine.
We continued our Window Wednesday initiative where the shop’s window features a themed display around one type of toys. Barbies, JellyCats and Playmobil featured in the displays for the first few months of the year.
Volunteering at The TOY Project is always welcomed, and we love meeting new volunteers. In February, Luca from King Alfred’s School completed his year of volunteering with us as part of his Gold DofE Award.
We then welcomed Eva from Channing School who volunteered as part of her Bronze DofE Award and Ricky from Austria volunteered at the shop with us for one week in February as part of her school’s visit programme to the UK.
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MARCH – APRIL 2020
The TOY Project welcomed another magazine publication to the shop to learn more about what we do. We were featured in the People’s Friend magazine, the longest running women's magazine in the world.
Our partnership with Small Steps Project continued. Small Steps Project are a charity that provide emergency aid, shoes and food to children and communities living on rubbish dumps around the world.
Thanks to Small Steps Project, children living on the Sihanoukville rubbish dump in Cambodia received a donation of our toys, including clocks donated by EasyRead Time Teacher.
This spring we commissioned another mural project with artist Dean Rudd. Funded by MONAT UK, Dean spent three days at the Whittington Hospital transforming the children’s anaesthetic room to create an inviting and friendly space for children about to undergo surgery.
Play specialist Abbi Spurdle worked with us closely to ensure that the content was suitable, and we have been pleased to receive lots of positive feedback about the mural from families and children.
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MARCH – APRIL 2020
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World Book Day on the 5th of March saw many children and adults dressing up as their favourite literary characters. Every year on World Book Day we give a free book to every child who visits The TOY Project shop to mark the occasion.
The year 2020 took an unexpected turn when the COVID-19 pandemic started to dominate news headlines.
To minimise any risk to staff and customers, we took the decision to close The TOY Project shop, on the 15th March 2020. Just over a week later on the 23rd March, the UK government implemented COVID-19 restrictions which included an announcement that all non-essential shops must close.
At the end of April, we were awarded a £25,000 grant from Islington Council to enable us to cover costs while The TOY Project shop was closed.
All part time staff members who usually work at the shop worked from home on a variety of projects and tasks.
Emma wrote reports, prepared spreadsheets and worked with Seb, our website and graphic designer, to give The TOY Project’s website some much needed updates.
Meanwhile, Enza worked on making cloth gift bags using recycled materials such as unwanted children’s pillowcases and duvets. We use the bags to pack donations of toys into to give to individual children, saving The TOY Project money and saving the planet as we no longer use paper gift bags or plastic bags.
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MARCH – APRIL 2020
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Although The TOY Project shop was closed during lockdown, behind the scenes the charity’s operations resumed as we continued to support those who needed us.
Working with organisations such as Camden Council, Islington Council, Pram Depot, Help On Your Doorstep and KIDS charity, we donated toys, books and games to support a range of children and families during lockdown.
Toys were given to; children with long term health conditions shielding at home, children living with high-risk family members, children who had lost parents and family members to the virus, mothers with new babies, children supported by social workers supported by Islington Council, struggling families in Newham and children and families living in hostels in Camden and Islington.
We also supported the children’s wards at the Royal Free Hospital and the Whittington Hospital by donating art and craft materials as well as LEGO sets.
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MARCH – APRIL 2020
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In addition, we delivered toys to children living on the Andover Estate as well as children from several schools including Yerbury Primary School, Duncombe Primary School, Robert Blair Primary School, Manorfield Primary School, Ambler Primary School, Hanover Primary School and Stroud Green Primary School.
We also supported the children and families of key workers at hospitals risking their lives to save ours every day. We donated toys including hundreds of Sylvanian Families dolls houses, cars and animals to children of key workers including doctors, nurses, porters and cleaners at the Whittington Hospital and University College London Hospital.
We would like to say a massive thank you to Dawn and Mick from the London Dog Walking Company who volunteered with their van during lockdown to help deliver toys to those who needed them.
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MAY – JUNE 2020
At the beginning of May, with The TOY Project shop closed to customers for the indefinite future, customers contacted us via social media asking if they could buy toys. We decided to start an online ordering and delivery service locally, with the money raised from this initiative went straight back into the charity to continue the important work that we do.
We donated Budkins characters, new toys, LEGO sets and art and craft materials to the children’s ward at the Whittington Hospital for children waiting for appointments as well as children with long term health conditions. We also donated toys to children supported by the Royal Free Hospital and children at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
We gave teddy bears knitted by a volunteer to the underfive class at Manorfield Primary School as well as Sylvanian Families dolls houses, animals and cars to Mulberry School and Hanover Primary School.
In addition, we continued to support organisations including Pram Depot, Help On Your Doorstep, KIDS Charity, Islington Council, Camden Council, Oak Lodge School in Barnet and Woodberry Down Children’s Centre.
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Through our outreach work, we identified the pressing need that some families needed more than just toys, games and books. To provide this support to people in these circumstances we launched our toy and food box initiative, purchasing extra items of food from the money raised via our online shop sales. Each box contained toys together with fresh breads, cheeses, fruits, snacks, jams, honey, cakes, drinks and treats.
In some circumstances, we buy new toys to meet the specific needs of a certain child. In June, we launched a GoFundMe campaign to purchase a new iPad for a 7-yearold child with spinal muscular atrophy. The condition means he is unable to breathe unassisted, move his limbs or speak clearly, but an iPad provides a way to communicate, access to education as well as entertainment.
The money to purchase the iPad was raised by our supporters in less than 24 hours and delivered just two days later – thank you to everyone who donated!
We would also like to thank one of our followers for purchasing a brand new bike for a 10-year-old referred to us via social workers at Islington Council.
During this time, we launched a number of new initiatives.
We signed up to PayPal’s Giving Fund and eBay For Charity which means that anybody who wants to raise money for The TOY Project can do so by selling their old toys on eBay with the money from the sale coming directly to us. We also signed up for Give As You Live, which means our supporters can raise money for us by shopping with big brands online.
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To support local businesses forced to close during lockdown we teamed up with Map, a gift shop located just a few doors along from The TOY Project on Junction Road in Archway. We started an online wishlist with Map gift shop where anyone wanting to buy a new gift for a child in need could buy one from a small, local, independent business.
Although originally intended as a temporary campaign, our wishlist with Map gift shop has stayed open as we have seen hundreds of toys donated to us through this initiative.
Encouraged by the success of our ‘shop local’ wishlist, we then launched a wishlist at Amazon.com for those who want to ‘shop global’.
At the end of May, the government announced an easing of lockdown restrictions, meaning we could start planning a phased reopening of The TOY Project shop. We also developed a set of procedures to adjust to the ‘new normal’ that would ensure a safe working environment for staff as well as minimising the risk to both staff and customers.
The first stage of our phased shop reopening was when we reopened for donations of toys and books from members of the public in mid-June.
Gradually, staff members returned to working their hours in the shop rather than working from home to facilitate this reopening. Our new procedures for accepting donations include ‘quarantining’ or storing donations in the boxes and bags they arrived in for at least 72 hours before they are processed.
At the very end of June, The TOY Project shop was reopened for takeaway purchases with reduced hours. Our takeaway system featured a counter at the door and worked similarly to an old fashioned shop – customers would ‘window shop’, choose what they would like to purchase, and a staff member would retrieve it for them from the shop floor. As part of the new measures, customers were encouraged to pay by contactless card and bring their own shopping bags.
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JULY – AUGUST 2020
The phased reopening of The TOY Project shop saw many familiar faces and happy customers as we continued to be open for takeaway purchases.
Due to the closure of The TOY Project shop for three months during lockdown and the government’s advice to ‘stay at home’ meaning lots of people had sorted out their toy collections, we were quickly overwhelmed with the generosity of the general public and local organisations when we reopened for donations.
Our storage areas quickly filled up with donations of toys, books and games which were ‘quarantined’ for at least 72 hours before being processed, meaning we were forced to close for donations for three weeks in July and then again for two weeks in August.
We donated toys to Tyssen Children’s Centre, families via Woodberry Down Children’s Centre as well as to families referred by Help On Your Doorstep.
Inspired by our Pride themed Playmobil Daisy boxes that we created in June 2019 for Pride Month, we started curating personalised Playmobil family boxes.
These made to order boxes are customised to fit the brief of the family, with Playmobil figures and family pets chosen to match their real life counterparts. We added details and personal touches such as footballs or bicycles to match the interests and hobbies of the family and children.
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In August, we sent off four barrels stuffed full of books to the Caribbean island of Grenada. Two barrels were sent to children supported by the Grenada National Council of the Disabled and two barrels went to the Peak School in Belmont.
The TOY Project has now been sending books and toys to Grenada for five years and continue our partnership with the Grenada National Council of the Disabled headed by Hilary Gabriel. As always, thank you to our field worker Janetta Noel.
We launched the TOY Project’s party bag website. Party bags are usually every parents' worst nightmare, but our eco-friendly recycled party bags remove the hassle. Each party bag contains a toy loved before by another child and then donated to The TOY Project to be loved again.
The toys are packaged in clear biodegradable cellophane bags or paper bags and include a tag ready to be personalised by the birthday child for their party. These eco-friendly party bags encourage children to recycle and prevent toys from ending up in landfill.
The money raised from the sale of our party bags goes straight back into The TOY Project charity. An example of one of the initiatives the sales of party bag support is our LEGO based workshops and therapy sessions.
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JULY – AUGUST 2020
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For the past year, The TOY Project has been delivering free LEGO based play therapy sessions run by six trained LEGO therapists for children living in difficult situations and children with specific social communication needs.
In the sessions, children and young people work together to build LEGO models and through this have the opportunity to learn skills such as turn taking, collaboration and communication skills while having fun and enjoying themselves.
At the end of August, we launched our campaign with the Aviva Community Fund to be able to continue funding these LEGO sessions for local children. We would like to thank the 89 supporters who raised a massive £3,234 in 112 days, enabling us to continue providing these sessions for a further six months.
We also secured £10,000 in funding from the National Lottery Community Fund’s COVID-19 Response Fund. From this funding, we were able to launch the Schools Partnership Scheme.
The Schools Partnership Scheme is organised by trustee Jess Doyle and The TOY Project has paired with our five closest primary schools – St John’s Primary School, Hargrave Park Primary School, Brookfield Primary School, Duncombe Primary School and The Bridge School.
Through this programme, we will support 91 children from 52 families for one year with toys and food parcels. We shopped locally at Map Gift Shop to ensure children have creative toys to build and share at home. All other toys have been donated.
Throughout the next twelve months, the children selected by their schools will be provided with three food boxes and six toy parcels including Christmas, Easter, birthdays and school holidays.
The food parcels and toys are delivered by cargo bike with Pedivan, a local bicycle courier service, saving The TOY Project money and looking after the environment.
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The TOY Project supports schools all year round however every year we are particularly busy in the weeks leading up to September as teachers and pupils prepare for the start of the new school year.
This year, with schools reopening to all pupils in September for the first time since lockdown begun in mid-March, we saw an increased demand for our toys and resources as schools implemented ‘bubble’ systems to be able to reopen safely, meaning schools required extra toys, books and games to fill classrooms and to facilitate after school activities.
We donated; tables, chairs, dressing up costumes and animal figures to Ashmount Primary School, puppets to St Mary’s Primary School, board games and learning materials to Woolmore Primary School, a Sylvanian Families dolls house, animal figures, cars and tea sets to the nursery class at Stroud Green Primary School, jigsaw puzzles and board games to West Green Primary School, toys to Coleridge Primary School, toys, board games and art and craft materials to Ambler Primary School, toys to Oasis Academy in Hackney and small world toys for therapy sessions at Lee Valley Primary School.
These schools can only be supported by generous donations from members of the public, so thank you to everyone who has donated their unwanted toys to The TOY Project.
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The TOY Project continued to be generously supported by MONAT UK.
In September, partners from MONAT UK donated hundreds of items of school supplies to set children up for the start of term including pencil cases, notebooks, pens, pencils, colouring pens and pencils, maths equipment, stationary, art materials as well as school bags.
The bags donated by MONAT packed full of school essentials were given to children at primary schools, children supported by social workers from Islington Council and children supported by Solace Women’s Aid who support women and children fleeing domestic violence.
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SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2020
In September we fully reopened The TOY Project shop. Following guidance from the government as well as Islington Council we implemented new procedures to minimise the risk to staff and customers. These new measures include limiting the numbers of customers in the shop, the wearing of face masks by customers and staff members unless exempt, providing hand sanitiser at the door, encouraging customers to pay with contactless card where possible, wiping down surfaces as well as our new system of storing customer donations for 72 hours.
This Autumn, we welcomed several new faces to The TOY Project team including trustee Michael Crowe, staff member Luke and a number of volunteers.
Michael joined The TOY Project as a trustee. He wanted to become a trustee because he was attracted by the concept of reducing waste and giving life to old toys and books to benefit the local community.
Since joining the team, new staff member Luke has a newfound love of LEGO, especially LEGO Friends. He now regularly takes home LEGO sets for us to check if they are complete.
We welcomed volunteer Ayman who came to sort out the games and puzzles and we also welcomed volunteer Nat who sorted out our window display full of figures, clearing all the figures out, cleaning the space and then rearranging the figures in a new rainbow pattern.
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Volunteer Francis is a retired hairdresser who now regularly takes home our Barbie dolls to give them a much needed spa treatment and he has also taught us how to make new Barbie dresses out of hair scrunchies.
For Black History Month in October, volunteer Nkechi spent a day arranging the window display at The TOY Project shop. The display featured toy figures of black and ethnic minority characters from TV and film such as superheroes, alongside black dolls and Playmobil figures as well as photos reflecting a celebration of the UK’s black history.
In mid-September, our weekly LEGO workshops and play therapy sessions resumed for the first time since lockdown begun back in March. These sessions are free for local children and are run at Hargrave Hall community centre around the corner from The TOY Project shop. We continued to adapt the sessions to follow the rules set out by the government’s COVID-19 restrictions.
The TOY Project worked with Hayward Adventure Playground on two projects. Run by KIDS charity, Hayward Adventure Playground provides a wide range of equipment specially adapted for disabled children.
We provided the children with a balloon animal making session with balloon sculptor Dan who demonstrated his skills and taught the children how to make their own balloon animal creations. A few weeks later, we met with Hayward Adventure Playground Manager Katy to discuss another mural project funded by The TOY Project that will help brighten up the playground’s outdoor space.
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Toys travelled to Cambodia with EmbraceAbility who work towards promoting capacity and independence for disabled and disadvantaged children and their families.
After a two-month trip, the four barrels of books we sent to the Caribbean island of Grenada arrived in late October and we were thrilled to see photos of children enjoying books donated to us.
Closer to home, teachers from St John’s Primary School, which is the closest school to The TOY Project shop, came along on their inset day to collect books, toys, board games and jigsaw puzzles to use in their classrooms.
We donated toys, books, board games and classroom resources, including clocks donated by EasyRead Time Teacher, to teachers at The Bridge School. We also donated toys to children via Help On Your Doorstep.
We also donated two gift bags full of toys, including two 3Style scooters, for siblings whose parents were victims of trafficking with the family now supported by the charity Hestia.
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CONTINUED
Over the years, The TOY Project has developed a close relationship with Abbi Spurdle, who has worked as a play specialist at several London hospitals. In 2020, Abbi moved to working at the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and The TOY Project continues to support the work she does in children’s wards.
We donated baby toys, toddler toys, dolls and board games to Abbi and the play team at the Queen’s Hospital and King George’s Hospital. A customer donated wall stickers which now decorate the walls of the children’s ward at the Queen’s Hospital.
We also supported individuals through several other hospitals. We donated a bag of baby toys to a nine-week-old baby whose parents are struggling financially via the health team at Homerton Hospital. We were also provided St Mary’s Hospital with LEGO for children’s play sessions thanks to LEGO sets sourced via In Kind Direct.
The TOY Project started preparing for Christmas 2020 by paying a visit to Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop in Covent Garden to meet with Louise as the toy shop will be selling our gift bags in the run up to Christmas this year. We also donated the first of 140 new toys which will be given as Christmas presents to children who attend Akwaaba in Hackney.
The events of this financial year were unpredictable due to COVID-19. During this difficult time, The TOY Project weathered the storm and adapted practices to continue to work towards distributing toys to children and families who needed them.
Emma Howat
THE TOY PROJECT ANNUAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2019 - NOVEMBER 2020
30
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The Toy Project 1164282
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period 15th November 14th November
To
from 2019 2020
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds Last year
funds funds funds
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Islington COVID-19 response 35,000 - 35,000 -
Other donations 2,599 - 2,599 -
Shop sales 50,481 - 50,481 -
Sub total (Gross income for
AR) [ 88,081 ] - - 88,081 -
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 88,081 - - 88,081 -
A3 Payments
Rent (shop) 25,000 - 25,000 -
Storage 5,532 5,532
Shop refurb 1,100 1,100
Legal fees - - - -
Rates - -
Electricity 955 955
Other expenses 14,013 14,013
Website 901 - - 901 -
Wages 29,440 29,440
Sub total [ 76,941 ] - - 76,941 -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total payments 76,941 - - 76,941 -
Net of receipts/(payments) 11,140 - - 11,140 -
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 20,021 - - 20,021 -
Cash funds this year end 31,161 - - 31,161 -
- 0
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
11/09/2021
1
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities |
Details Bank account Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Details Details Details Signature signed copy on file signed copy on file |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 31,161 - - - 31,161 - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - Fund to which Amount due - - - - - Print Name FRANCES HOWAT JANE GARFIELD |
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - |
|---|---|---|---|
| - OK |
|||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due Date of approval |
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
11/09/2021
2
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Indèpendent Examiner's Rèport Report to the trustee81 -fv roy Pro"" On accounts forthe ftr end•d 1169282 Ilf any) Set out on pages Respective The thari5 trustees arn resp1le for the ofthe xcounts in rnsponslbilities al ac£oance thith the requirements of the Chafities Acl 2011 fthe A. The tharity's trustees conderthat audtt is not rn4uired forthis urlder sedion 1M ofthe Ad and that an independert examination is needed. It rny responsibility to: . examine the accounts under sacbon 145 of Ihe Charits A to follow th8 appli(xble Dire¢lions given by the Ctwity Comission (under sedion 145(5)Ib) ofthe Ac and to state vthether particular mattern have ¢m to nry attenti Basis of Indwd•nt W examinati was carried out in 8CCnrd Trmth gen1 lkndN)ns gr) examins SlateM by the Ch Commissb)n. An examination indudes a re¥4 of the a¢xxwntirKJ records kept by the thaTity and a (lis0n ofthe acAyyJIts esented vAth those re¢mds. It also in¢audes a)nsKleration of any urusual items or disdosures in the accounts. and seeking eyplanalions from I thjstees conceming any such matters. The wocwjures undert&ken do not provide all th¢ evidence thatthY>uld be required in an audii. ar consequenty no opinion gi¥en as to vthetherthe acctymts Ixesent a aThJ fairf vivli the report is limited lo those rnatters set wt in thg Independent In o)nnedion %ith my examinalion, rK matsrial ffotters ¢>)m? to my examlnefs ststement attention (other than that thsdosed bglow.) which gives me ouse to belleve that in, any material rnspect: arJJ)unllng [YardS were nol kept in Ythilh seciion 130 of Ch¥ities Act I have no ncernS and have )rne a¢xoss no other matters in c%>nneclion ith the examination to vknth attèntion should be dran In order to enable a proper undgr5tanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Flease delele t s in th8 brn¢*ets Kth8y th) not Slgned: Relewant professional qualification(s) or body rrf ary): CHAIL a£ckfh]A IAay2018 .