TOMY International team members in the U.S., Europe, and Australia gave back to their communities during Q1. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service and overall company inclusivity ambitions, the teams at TOMY volunteered at different charities and groups. The recent volunteering efforts are part of the company’s long history of supporting its community.

TOMY supported several causes that are important to team members across 10 offices. In Oak Hill, Illinois, TOMY hosted Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, where volunteers taught kids about toy designs and helped them make their own. In Dyersville, Iowa, TOMY conducted a food drive and office contest titled “Caroling for Cans” in support of the Rural Community Food Pantry.

“Our employees chose to support local charities that focused on children or families with young children,” says Greg Kilrea, President of TOMY International. “These volunteer and donation events are consistent with our mission to Make the World Smile. Enhancing the lives of children across the globe is what TOMY is about.”

Employees also volunteered at Cradles to Crayons in Canton, Massachusetts, where they checked, sorted, and prepared goods for kids. In Tempe, Arizona, team members supported UMOM through a monetary donation to help end family homelessness. TOMY also sponsored the Team Jack Foundation’s annual gala, which raises money for research and advocacy for pediatric brain cancer, in Omaha, Nebraska.

The company cleaned up the garden at Little Bridge House, a children’s hospice facility in Exeter, UK; built tap dancing boards and painted murals at The Jam Place, a community center and dance school for kids with special educational needs in Brooklands, UK; and donated sensory bundles of toys to special needs babies in Australia. In addition, TOMY brought toys to local kids hospitals specializing in childhood cancer in Germany and visited local kids hospitals to donate toys in France.

TOMY also provided a monetary donation to each charity, including The Toy Foundation and Toy Trust and Children in Need Day. In total, TOMY donated $75,000.

“We believe it is important to give back, not just financially but with our time as well.  We’re inspired by these charities and their acts of service and are hopeful our participation will motivate others,” Kilrea says.

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