How Donating Toys Helps Children and Charities
Children outgrow toys far faster than the toys wear out, which means most homes have games and playthings that could bring joy elsewhere. Understanding how donating toys helps shows that a playroom clear-out can support children, raise money for charity and reduce waste. This guide from Anglo Doorstep Collections explains the difference your donated toys make.
- Children and families
- Your chosen charity
- Local jobs
- Less waste
Toys are among the most rewarding items to donate. They are usually still safe and complete when a child has moved on from them, they are wanted by families everywhere, and a free doorstep collection means you can pass them on without leaving home.
1 · Children and families
Where your donated toys go
When you donate toys through our free doorstep collection service, they are taken to our warehouse and sorted by hand. From there, we pass on what can be used again. A soft toy, an action figure or a set of building blocks that your family has finished with becomes something another child can enjoy.
This keeps good toys in use rather than in landfill. A box of outgrown toys from one family can bring play and learning to children well beyond it.
Follow the whole journey on what happens to my toys?
Play and learning
Why toys matter to children
Play is how children learn. Toys help develop imagination, coordination, problem-solving and social skills, and they bring simple happiness. Good-quality toys can be expensive, so passing on the ones your family no longer needs helps make play accessible to more children.
Donating toys is also a natural part of family life. As bedrooms and playrooms are reorganised, a collection gives you an easy way to clear space while making sure outgrown toys go somewhere worthwhile.
2 · Charity
How donating toys supports charity
Donated toys also raise money for good causes. A large percentage of the proceeds from the items we collect goes to the partner charity you choose. These include Action for Children, which supports children and families across the UK, and Together for Short Lives, the leading UK charity for children with life-limiting conditions, alongside Advance and the RSPCA. When you book a collection you can also choose to have a tree planted through Ecologi.
So a box of toys does two jobs at once. The toys go on to be played with again, and the proceeds become real support for children’s charities and other good causes.
3 · Jobs
People in work
Every collection is work for real people: the drivers who collect from your street, and the team at our warehouse who sort every bag by hand and check which toys can be played with again.
Before you donate
Safe, complete and ready to play
A little care before you donate makes a real difference to how useful a toy will be. Toys are most valuable when they are passed on safe, clean and complete, so it is worth taking a few moments to check them over.
Bag small pieces together so sets such as building blocks and action figures stay whole, because a complete set is far more enjoyable than one missing parts. Give soft toys and plastic items a quick clean, and set aside anything broken, sharp or no longer safe, as those are not suitable to be passed on. This simple sorting takes only a few minutes, and it means the toys that reach another child are ready to be played with straight away.
Packing tips and collection day are on how do I donate my toys?
4 · The planet
The environmental side of donating toys
Many toys are made from durable materials that last far longer than one child’s interest in them. Thrown away, they can sit in landfill for a very long time. Donating toys keeps them in use, avoids that waste and reduces the demand for new toys to be manufactured. It is a small, easy choice that supports the wider goal of keeping usable goods in circulation.
By our own estimate, every kilo of toys played with again instead of made new saves around 2 kg of CO2e. See how donating toys helps the planet, why old toys shouldn’t go in the bin, or try the green calculator.
The simple test
What toys you can donate
Reusable toys for babies, toddlers and older children are welcome, including soft toys, dolls, action figures, building blocks, bath toys, and musical and educational toys. The main requirements are simple: toys should be clean, safe and reasonably complete, because they will be re-homed for genuine reuse. Bagging small pieces together keeps sets intact, and anything broken or unsafe is better kept separate.
The full list, and what we can’t take, is on what toys can I donate? There is more on soft toys and teddies and on donating Lego.
Related reading
Related reading
To learn more about how your donations help and the difference reuse makes, explore the guides below.
Ready to give
Donate your toys today
Donating toys is a simple way to support children, raise money for charity and reduce waste, all from one easy collection. The toys your family has outgrown can go on to bring joy to another child while doing good along the way.
If you have toys ready to pass on, browse our Charity Collections Near You page and book a free doorstep collection. Bag everything up, leave it out on the day, and we will take care of the rest.
Ready to donate your toys?
It’s free, you don’t need to be at home, and you choose the charity your donation supports.