Advice: getting donations directly into hands of children?

We have some Yu-Gi-Oh! tins that have been quite the rage for young boys ages 5 to10 approximately. These tins are brand new, sealed and are actually from several years ago. I am sharing this because it poses my dilemna that they do have value. We'd like to avoid an intermediary if possible because of perceived value and possibility of not actually getting into the hands of those intended to receive.

We would like to find a way to distribute these popular tins to boys that are both needy and deserving ages approximately 5 to 10. We don't have more than 25, but we do have other new items that we'd like to give as well ~ same age range.

Does anyone have any advice on how we might accomplish this or at least get us on the right path?

As always, many thanks in advance for your thoughts & ideas!

Happy Holidays to all ☺

You could ask a school guidance counselor to recommend a boy in that situation and present it to him. You could as someone from a church if they know of a family in need with a boy of that age. Another thought is Boy Scouts. The Dept. of Social Services has families in need, but it would have to go to someone you can trust there, perhaps wrapping it first and putting sticker on it "cards for boy age 5 to 10" (even 12 year olds!)

Good luck, such a nice thing to do!

Thanks, DebbbiesDaisy! Those are some good routes to try and I will.

We have a Christian Ministry that operates a Sharing House and they have families to adopt for Christmas. I'll bet if you check your newspapers, you will find organizations that are collecting toys for families in need. They give them directly to families in the community, by the bag. If you aren't sure what organizations might be doing that in your area, you can check with your local Social Services department.

I had another idea also....if there is a ARC Association for Retarted Citizens/Children in your area, there may be some use there also. We have a mentally challenged gentleman in our town that is 42, but loves his cards and takes them everywhere with him.

Morph,

My daughter's elementary school (and i'm sure most schools) does an "Angel Tree" with the ages and genders of children in that school who are needy. You bring the things in and they will wrap for you, or help you wrap them there yourself (i think for safety sake they don't allow already wrapped items). I would call your local school and ask, that way they would go to children in need and in your area.

One other note, my daughter is 6 and loves Yu-Gi-Oh, so it might not be just boys in your area who would enjoy them. The counselors at the school are usually the ones to put such thing together, she or he might know the children well enough to know which boys and girls would enjoy them.

I am sure however you decide to distribute them they will be much appreciated!
Happy Holidays!

Melissa

Another thought i just had is that you might take them to your local children's hospital. My daughter recently had surgery and one of the things she got when she was in ICU was an afghan that a group called Project Linus makes for critically ill children to be distributed at hospitals. Having a gift given to her by the nurses seemed very special to her. I am sure that a new toy to enjoy would be very welcome by a child in the hospital, ESPECIALLY on Christmas!

I would agree , being a teacher, most kids at school are covered by teachers and other families there. Take the cards to a childrens hospital, ask to go up to the wards and give them to the kids yourself. The only way to get them where you want to go is to the place and give them yourself. I have seen and heard to many people take one home rather then give them all.. .. .. or give them to another group (ie for prizes for kids who already have everything they want) you did not mean for them to go to... my 2 cents worth.


Mitch

If y'all think deserving children are covered in the schools, we definitely like the idea of approaching children's hospitals. I feel very strongly about somehow sharing hope with children that are victims of circumstance. We'd like these children to know that we care and pray for them and, hopefully, convey our message of caring by reaching out to them.

Being able to recognize children that have risen above their circumstances and are deserving are a bonus.

Your ideas have reminded me of some avenues I'd forgotten as we've progressed to other stages of life. I am still intent on delivering these items ourselves if at all possible. With many of the opportunities to donate out there, not only do we fear what Mitch reiterated, but we can understand that inspection is necessary and expected.

We haven't elimated hurricane victims, but that's a tough one to figure out as well.

Also, it's just really tough trying to figure out how to do this they way we would like. Hopefully, once we've gone through this particular approach, it will be much easier in the future.

Cheers and thanks to everyone for your ideas & feedback!
Morph

I cannot speak for your school but any school that wants them covered has lots of options from vendors, charity, teachers, and students. If the school has any heart they have them covered.

What about bringing them to a soup kitchen Christmas morning?

I've taken names off of trees before, but often wondered if the intended child got the gifts. I've often wondered about the people behind the scenes that were distributing the gifts. How many hands did it have to go through before the child got them and did they even get them?

Do you have an orphanage in your town? An abused woman and child shelter? I seem to think alot about the "forgotten" ones.

I think its awesome that you're doing this! Please keep us posted?

Those are all great ideas Ms. Jen there are way too many forgotten people this time of year please do let us know what you end up doing!

Thanks for the extra ideas, MsJen!!! Yes, we do have these places and I may lean toward that ☺

I'll definitely post what we do!