Northampton ReUse's fourth annual Holiday Toy Exchange will be held on December 12 and 13, 2014 at Smith Vocational High School, 80 Locust Street, Northampton. Donations of gently used toys will be collected and shared free of charge. This highly anticipated community event has become an important source of holiday gifts for residents on tight budgets; it also increases the lifespan of toys and other durable items, which are often discarded long before their usefulness wanes.
Donations of clean, gently used, working toys and sports equipment will be accepted from the public from 5-8 PM on Friday, 12/12 and 8-9 AM on Saturday, 12/13. The following items are sought: musical instruments; action figures/dolls; sports equipment & bicycles; books, games & puzzles; model kits & building toys; arts/craft kits & creative learning toys; cars & trucks; outdoor toys & structures; stuffed animals; electronic toys; video games & DVDs; and baby & preschool toys.
Collected toys will be available to donor parents and those referred by prearranged community agencies on Saturday, 12/13 from 9-10 AM and to the general public from 10AM-Noon. Participants are asked to leave children safely at home in the care of others during the Saturday pick-up portion of the event. This event is intended to provide free toys to local children for their personal use; we ask resellers to respect that goal. At the close of the event, all remaining items will be donated for reuse and recycling.
The event is coordinated by the Board of Public Works' Reuse Committee and is co-sponsored by the Northampton Public Schools/CFCE via grants from the MA Department of Early Education.
The average US citizen consumes twice as many goods as fifty years ago; and over 90% of goods produced for US markets find their way into the trash within six months. With these statistics in mind, there is little doubt that both Mother Nature and the entire abandoned-and-destined-for-the-incinerator cast of Toy Story whole-heartedly support this event.