Help us launch No Toy Left Behind!

by No Toy Left Behind Community Interest Company in Axminster, Devon, United Kingdom

We did it
On 1st March 2022 we successfully raised £8,573 with 63 supporters in 173 days

We are a community project that aims to make buying toys a little bit more sustainable and reduce waste by saving toys from landfill.

by No Toy Left Behind Community Interest Company in Axminster, Devon, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

If we can raise £5000 we will be able to do so much more! We will be able to pilot a regular pop-up shop and upcycling workshop!
5/10 : An exciting development is that we are in discussion with a gorgeous town centre venue - if  we raise enough we could rent a room which would be a perfect base for No Toy Left Behind to start out!


Our mission is to make it easy for you and your children to love pre-loved toys and we're dreaming of a high street toy shop in Axminster!

Our project aims to challenge cultural norms of consumerism by offering clean good quality secondhand toys that will be giftable quality.  We have created a fun brand to appeal to children. 

We will be an environmentally friendly alternative to buying new stuff! 
Please help us launch the project by making a donation today!


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(Photo shows one of our inspirations: the wonderful Jelly Children’s Charity Shop in Exeter)


Why is this important?

Environmental sustainability is high priority for many families. We know we should be decreasing waste and buying less stuff...But kids love toys and are so susceptible to advertising and the latest trends amongst their peers. 

Toys often contain mixed materials and types of plastic that at end of life cannot be recycled by our roadside collections or recycling centres. And, of course, new toys often arrive in layers of single use packaging.  

Even when we are trying to live more sustainably new toys can still pile up at birthdays and Christmas….

This is where No Toy Left Behind comes in! We will sell GIFTABLE quality secondhand toys that have been graded, cleaned, pampered and presented so you can give them as a gift!

We think a more sustainable gift option is really needed! In April this year we surveyed our community. The results showed that although nearly everyone was very happy to buy preloved toys, it was much less likely for preloved toys to be bought as gifts. 

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Our vision:

Here at No Toy Left Behind we dream of a world where our planet's precious resources are always valued

As well as our shop front enabling us to play a part in facilitating sustainable behaviour, we want to use the platform we build to allow us to challenge our societal norms around consumerism and waste.  We’ll run upcycling workshops using broken toys to get families hands on with the materials that their toys are made of: whilst we’re creating we can be wondering...what is this made from? And where do these materials come from?

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Our plan:

We will accept donations of toys in any condition. By partnering with Terracycle’s toy recycling scheme we will aim to be zero waste.

  • Our team will clean good condition donated toys and pamper them until they are looking great! These toys will then be tagged and presented so that they are giftable quality. 
  • The well loved toys and the toys in our hospital wing will also be looking for new families.
  • Broken toys will either be upcycled into quirky gifts by our creative crafters, used as part of our family upcycling workshops or, as a last resort, recycled via the Terracycle scheme.  
  • By partnering with the food bank we will be able to offer free toys to families in financial difficulties.

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As we will be starting out with a very small team,  to enable us to keep our promises we will initially need to carefully limit donations (so we don't exceed our capacity). But our dream is that, with our supporters' help, the project will grow and grow and grow and grow….we want all of our community's used toys to stay out of landfill/incinerators ...forever!  

Why are we crowdfunding and what are we spending the money on?

We’re pretty excited that Devon County Council has already decided that they think our project could help make changes needed for a more sustainable future, so has committed to match your pledges pound for pound if we can reach baseline fundraising targets! If we can raise £1000 before October 1st we will receive £1000 from Devon County Council as part of the #BackTheFuture Devon Climate Challenge!

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We think No Toy Left Behind will be a real asset to our community,  but we need to know... what do you think? By pledging your support, you not only will help us to get the project up and running, you’ll also be letting us know that you believe in our mission and you’ll be sending the message that you want this project to succeed as much as we do!  

Our launch costs include really boring things like insurance, storage, web costs, Terracycle recycling costs, equipment, project managing, staff safeguarding training and dbs checks… but also exciting things like tools for our crafting workshops and branding and packaging so we can actually start to sell toys to generate an income stream: this is a super important part of our plan as, if we can become financially self-sufficient we won’t need to rely on donations or grants in the future.

If we can raise £2000 in total we will cover our core launch costs: We will be able to get our website sales ready and begin to accept and process donations, including sorting broken toys for upcycling and recycling.  If we can raise £5000 we will also be able to pilot a pop-up shop and broken toy workshop.

For your peace of mind we are a registered Community Interest Company:  this means any money in our account has to be invested into the project. It also means that if the project is wrapped up and funds remain then they are subject to an “asset lock” so any money goes to our nominated charity: Exeter Scrapstore.  

What is our dream?

Our ultimate aim is that No Toy Left Behind will prove it can be successful enough to have a retail space in Axminster and be an awesome community toy shop so our supporters in East Devon can browse, play and shop in a comfortable, fun, inclusive and friendly space!

PLEASE HELP US TAKE A STEP TOWARDS MAKING THIS HAPPEN BY PLEDGING YOUR SUPPORT TODAY!

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How to support us: 

Support this Crowdfunder by making a pledge today!

If you believe in our vision and agree with us that grass-roots community driven projects have a part to play in facilitating a sustainable future for the next generation then please consider supporting us! We are a small project and every little donation will count! We’re so grateful that Devon County Council has selected our project as part of their #backthefuture campaign, so if we reach our fundraising targets they will match every pledge pound for pound!!

  • Please choose a reward to pledge your support today
  • Support this Crowdfunder by sharing our story on social media and with your friends and family!
  • Follow us on Facebook or Instagram
  • Sign up on our website for email updates,  so you’ll be the first to know when we are ready to accept donations

Rewards:

Go ahead and choose a reward if you're after a warm fuzzy feeling, a kid's club membership AND/OR an exclusive lucky dip keyring/pair of earrings/necklace (lovingly handmade from an old toy by local crafters) to commemorate your pledge! 

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FAQs:

When are you going to start accepting toys? 

If our fundraising is successful we hope to be able to begin to accept donations in October. Follow us on social media or subscribe via our website to be the first to know! 

What toys will you accept? 

We will have very limited capacity to begin with, so will only be able to accept small toys (we class “small” as toys that can fit on a shelf!). We cannot take anything electrical (with a cable and plug). 

How will you clean the toys? 

We won’t be using chemicals. We will be using a steam cleaner, soap, water, brushes and elbow grease. 

Will you be a toy shop we can visit? 

Our dream is most definitely to open a friendly and accessible community toy shop with space to browse, hang out and play! But…this Crowdfunder is to raise the money we need for: Stage 1, Pilot!  So initially, whilst we pilot the project,  toys will only be available online and on shelf space in existing retail/café spaces in town.

 If the pilot is a success and we can prove that the project is going to be financially sustainable, then we can start planning for a shop of our own! 

What makes you different from a charity shop? 

The No Toy Left Behind team will carefully pamper, grade, tag  and present toys  so that they are giftable. By keeping our focus solely on children’s toys we will be able to have a wider range and offer more choice. By supporting us you’re supporting our focus on facilitating sustainability and the creation of a local circular economy. You’re also supporting local families in financial difficulties who will be able to receive vouchers for our toys via the food banks. 

Is buying preloved toys sustainable?

Buying preloved is generally more sustainable than buying new. Keeping a product in circulation for longer means less demand for new products, and this saves raw materials, reduces waste and conserves energy. But preloved doesn’t mean perfect. As a society, the sheer scale of our demand for ‘stuff’ is a real problem (even if we increase the proportion that is preloved) and the only truly sustainable solution is to buy less of it. But when a ten-year-old’s birthday is around the corner – that can be really hard! That’s why we started No Toy Left Behind – to bring you pampered preloved toys of giftable quality.

Consumerism is a big environmental problem. Is this the solution?

No. No Toy Left Behind is one local solution to a complex global-scale problem. As a society there is so much more we need to do, from reducing our demand for ‘stuff’ to improving the sustainability of the energy and materials used to make it. But, by helping you buy preloved, and by working with other fantastic local organisations like Axminster repair café, we will be one tool in the big toolbox needed to help our community reduce its environmental impact.

What else can I do to reduce my environmental impact?

There are lots of local organisations that can help you reduce the environmental impact of the products you buy or use. Your local repair café can help breathe new life into broken things, and projects like “Borrow don’t Buy” offer items for loan so you don’t need to buy in the first place. But there are lots of other things you can do – why not contact your MP or local councillor to talk about how you can work together to make your community more sustainable?

What will you do with the toys you can’t sell?

Every toy deserves a chance – we will do as much as we can to pamper even the most pummelled toys back to their prime and we’ll have a “Very Well Loved But Still Lovable” section to rehome the toys that don’t make the grade. 

For safety we won’t be insured to repair broken toys ourselves, but we will always signpost to the monthly repair café. Some broken toys will be upcycled and given a new lease of life by our crafters, or stored to use in our upcycling workshops. 

As a last resort, and a last resort only, we partner with Terracycle to recycle any toys or materials whose journey is truly over.

Meet the team: 


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Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.

£5 or more

A warm, happy glow!

By pledging £5 or more you will receive a warm happy glow and you'll be added to our subscribe list so you will be the first to know when we launch! We will know you back our project and want to see it succeed!

£10 or more

Be thanked in our Founding Supporters Hall of Fame

Be one of our founding supporters: By pledging £10 you will receive a warm, happy glow AND be added to our subscribers list so you will be the first to know when we launch AND your name/your child's name will appear in our Founding Supporters Hall of Fame.

£15 or more

5 of 50 claimed

Lucky Dip exclusive handmade gift

If you pledge £15 you will receive the warm, happy glow, be on our subscribers list so you are the first to know when we launch, have your name/your child's name in our Founding Supporters Hall of Fame AND receive an exclusive handmade gift with a tiny pre-loved toy charm, tagged with our No Toy Left Behind label.

£20 or more

7 of 50 claimed

Kids club membership and exclusive handmade gift

If you pledge £20 you will receive a warm, happy glow, be on our subscribers list so you are the first to know when we launch, have your name/your child's name in our Founding Supporters Hall of Fame, receive an exclusive handmade gift with a tiny pre-loved toy charm with our No Toy Left Behind label AND membership to our kids club which includes badge, membership card, priority booking for workshops and access to our kids club webpage.

£100 or more

0 of 5 claimed

No Toy Left Behind Patron

If you really love the No Toy Left Behind vision and you want to support and encourage us on our mission (as we launch and then move forwards), then we'd love to welcome you as an official No Toy Left Behind Patron! Your support will be recognised on our website by including you as an important part of our Team and you will have exclusive access to our Team platform where ideas are shared and discussed.

Got an idea like this?

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