Anoushka Saboo, Aditya Saboo, Aryamaan Lakhotia, Ananya Lakhotia and Rashi Choudhary were just young teenagers in 2016 when they started Toy Joy. Today they are one of India's largest student run organization, traversing 8 cities.
Their mission - to bring happiness into the lives of thousands of under-privileged children by collecting and redistributing toys from across the country. The team at Toy Joy meticulously collects the donated toys and examines each one, making sure they are not broken before gift wrapping each one and presenting it to needy children as gifts (and not donations).
Aryamaan from St James School in Kolkata recently received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (formerly known as the National Bravery Awards) in the field of social service, from the President of India himself.
I got to speaking with him and his team.
How did Toy Joy begin?
The idea for Toy Joy originated during my trip to Jaipur in May 2016. I had gone there for my cousin sister’s 16th birthday, and after the party we noticed that she had received a lot of gifts which she already had. It was my grandmother who made us realise the importance of giving away to people, and encouraged us to donate those presents. All of us thought that social service should never be a one off event, but should be done persistently over a long period of time. Hence, we came up with the idea of starting Toy Joy.
We began operations in 2 cities (Jaipur and Kolkata), and started to collect toys from donors through our Facebook page, and then organise distribution events for the underprivileged. My sister and I converted our rooms into a storage space for all the donations. With our mission to make the recipients feel they are receiving presents rather than donated things only, we gift-wrapped the items to generate twice the happiness.
It has been over two years since we started Toy Joy and the response has been overwhelming. We started off with only toys for children, but now we even collect clothes and books for children as well as adults. Over time, we were featured in several premier newspapers such as The Telegraph and Times of India, on television by ETV Rajasthan, and various online media outlets such as Better India, and The Logical Indian. Giving us a huge boost, this tremendously increased our credibility and provided us a huge platform to work for the underprivileged.
Over time, we expanded to 5 other cities: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Noida, and Nawa, and are now looking to start work in Nagpur as well. Our team consists of teenagers only, who volunteer to serve in their respective home towns. Since our opening, we have managed to distribute over 15,000 items through 100+ donation events which we organised in our respective cities.
Our early vision to bring change in the immediate community has grown into so much more and even today, we continue to arrange collection drives and awareness campaigns all over the nation.
2. Could you tell us some of your most memorable moments at part of team ToyJoy?
I think one of the most memorable moments for me was receiving our first donation. Even though the contribution was from a family friend, it was very encouraging to see that people supported our cause and wanted to be a part of it. I believe it really increased our morale, and motivated us to start more collection drives.
Moreover, I vividly remember our first big donation event which took place in association with The Rotary Club of Central Calcutta and Voice of World School. It was a really huge platform for us, and we gave items to each student studying there. It was just the start of a long relationship, as we donate things there even today. The event also brought to light the importance of what we do; everyone was very appreciative of our efforts and enjoyed playing with the toys we donated.
3. You are the youth I would want to see more of across India. What advice do you have for the general public?
Most Indian parents tend to be overprotective of their children, and make them focus mainly on academics. I believe that children, no matter their age, should be given the opportunity of exploring different things. Parents should always encourage them to take part in extra-curricular activities, social service etc. Of course, maintaining a good academic record is essential, but such activities are important too.
Just like the phrase “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” participating in things other than studies is very significant for proper personality growth and development. I am glad and grateful to my parents who gave me the freedom to explore various sports, arts, and social service, which enabled me to open up and interact with other people.
For example, I applied for and got accepted to a volunteering trip to Spain, which was fully funded by Ministry of Education (Government of Spain), where I got the opportunity to teach English to Spanish children for 2 weeks. Next, I also received the opportunity to attend a 3 week course on Business and Entrepreneurship at Stanford University on a full scholarship of $6850. Neither of these experiences would have been possible without the support of my family; these trips offered me a global perspective and motivated me to work harder and push myself with a thrust of optimism.
4. How can we help make a difference both to Toy Joy as well as children in need?
Doing community service is always considered a noble initiative, but in reality, very few people actually want to involve themselves in it. I believe that it should be the duty of every person to provide for upliftment of their country and community; everyone can make difference, no matter how small it may seem.
Even a simple act of donating some toys can light up an underprivileged child’s life. And needless to say, it should come from within, from the heart. Giving bak to society is no obligation or requirement, but a moral duty of all to celebrate and help the community which assisted them in times of need.
Giving things with an open heart is all that Toy Joy asks its donors to do; for children are the future of India, and only such small steps can have a lasting impact in the long run.
Author's note:
This is part of my #BlogchatterA2Z and #AtoZChallenge where I will be focusing on Real Life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion.
Of course, I have been tracking these lovely human beings for years now and have found children as young as six years old and old women in their eighties from across the world who will restore your faith in humanity.
Want more stories of compassion to brighten up your day? Hundreds of 'Heroes of Kindness' can be found here:
Heroes of Kindness - 2017 edition
Heroes of Kindness - 2018 edition
Heroes of Kindness - 2019 edition
Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition
Their mission - to bring happiness into the lives of thousands of under-privileged children by collecting and redistributing toys from across the country. The team at Toy Joy meticulously collects the donated toys and examines each one, making sure they are not broken before gift wrapping each one and presenting it to needy children as gifts (and not donations).
Aryamaan from St James School in Kolkata recently received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (formerly known as the National Bravery Awards) in the field of social service, from the President of India himself.
I got to speaking with him and his team.
How did Toy Joy begin?
The idea for Toy Joy originated during my trip to Jaipur in May 2016. I had gone there for my cousin sister’s 16th birthday, and after the party we noticed that she had received a lot of gifts which she already had. It was my grandmother who made us realise the importance of giving away to people, and encouraged us to donate those presents. All of us thought that social service should never be a one off event, but should be done persistently over a long period of time. Hence, we came up with the idea of starting Toy Joy.
We began operations in 2 cities (Jaipur and Kolkata), and started to collect toys from donors through our Facebook page, and then organise distribution events for the underprivileged. My sister and I converted our rooms into a storage space for all the donations. With our mission to make the recipients feel they are receiving presents rather than donated things only, we gift-wrapped the items to generate twice the happiness.
Over time, we expanded to 5 other cities: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Noida, and Nawa, and are now looking to start work in Nagpur as well. Our team consists of teenagers only, who volunteer to serve in their respective home towns. Since our opening, we have managed to distribute over 15,000 items through 100+ donation events which we organised in our respective cities.
Our early vision to bring change in the immediate community has grown into so much more and even today, we continue to arrange collection drives and awareness campaigns all over the nation.
2. Could you tell us some of your most memorable moments at part of team ToyJoy?
I think one of the most memorable moments for me was receiving our first donation. Even though the contribution was from a family friend, it was very encouraging to see that people supported our cause and wanted to be a part of it. I believe it really increased our morale, and motivated us to start more collection drives.
Moreover, I vividly remember our first big donation event which took place in association with The Rotary Club of Central Calcutta and Voice of World School. It was a really huge platform for us, and we gave items to each student studying there. It was just the start of a long relationship, as we donate things there even today. The event also brought to light the importance of what we do; everyone was very appreciative of our efforts and enjoyed playing with the toys we donated.
3. You are the youth I would want to see more of across India. What advice do you have for the general public?
Most Indian parents tend to be overprotective of their children, and make them focus mainly on academics. I believe that children, no matter their age, should be given the opportunity of exploring different things. Parents should always encourage them to take part in extra-curricular activities, social service etc. Of course, maintaining a good academic record is essential, but such activities are important too.
Just like the phrase “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” participating in things other than studies is very significant for proper personality growth and development. I am glad and grateful to my parents who gave me the freedom to explore various sports, arts, and social service, which enabled me to open up and interact with other people.
For example, I applied for and got accepted to a volunteering trip to Spain, which was fully funded by Ministry of Education (Government of Spain), where I got the opportunity to teach English to Spanish children for 2 weeks. Next, I also received the opportunity to attend a 3 week course on Business and Entrepreneurship at Stanford University on a full scholarship of $6850. Neither of these experiences would have been possible without the support of my family; these trips offered me a global perspective and motivated me to work harder and push myself with a thrust of optimism.
4. How can we help make a difference both to Toy Joy as well as children in need?
Doing community service is always considered a noble initiative, but in reality, very few people actually want to involve themselves in it. I believe that it should be the duty of every person to provide for upliftment of their country and community; everyone can make difference, no matter how small it may seem.
Even a simple act of donating some toys can light up an underprivileged child’s life. And needless to say, it should come from within, from the heart. Giving bak to society is no obligation or requirement, but a moral duty of all to celebrate and help the community which assisted them in times of need.
Giving things with an open heart is all that Toy Joy asks its donors to do; for children are the future of India, and only such small steps can have a lasting impact in the long run.
Author's note:
This is part of my #BlogchatterA2Z and #AtoZChallenge where I will be focusing on Real Life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion.
Of course, I have been tracking these lovely human beings for years now and have found children as young as six years old and old women in their eighties from across the world who will restore your faith in humanity.
Want more stories of compassion to brighten up your day? Hundreds of 'Heroes of Kindness' can be found here:
Heroes of Kindness - 2017 edition
Heroes of Kindness - 2018 edition
Heroes of Kindness - 2019 edition
Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition
This is really amazing!
ReplyDeleteI feel I’m sitting and just letting life pass, while there are heroes of kindness like them in the works!
Hats off!
An inspiringg post!!
ReplyDeleteThese are great kids with an awesome initiative. If anybody wants to contribute toys/books etc., how do they get in touch with them? Plz DM me on FB, okay. Might not remember to check the reply here.
ReplyDeleteWow❤️
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely gesture. Truly amazing. - Jigna
ReplyDeleteGood work❤❤Indeed heart warming...
ReplyDelete