Volunteer Induction

11th May, 2018

Toybank, as an organization believes in the Power of Play. It believes in developing the mental ability of at-risk children through programs and initiatives that particularly focus on behavioral and mental growth in their early childhood years. Toybank, through collaborations have been conducting Play Sessions at Schools, Community Centers, NGOs, and Hospitals, where in the course of educational toys & games – their skill sets are developed. In addition to that toys & games are also amusement for children.

Although, Toybank alone cannot fulfill its objective of each child having their right to play. The Volunteer Action Program is held so that Toybank can have volunteers that contribute towards fulfilling the same. The job profiles of these volunteers vary from volunteer to volunteer based on the skill sets they have and the requirement of the organization. The most common and the most important category that the volunteers work on are the Play sessions; simultaneously documenting the sessions. Conducting research, case studies or spear heading events are also some of the categories. To let the potential volunteers know about Toybank and its work, a volunteer induction is held before their joining, where the detailed information is given by a member of the organization.

The Volunteer Induction for the Toybank Volunteer Action Program was held at the Toybank office in Mahim on 11^th May, 2018. The Induction had a total of 10 members present who had come either by reference or through their search on online portals.The Induction began with a round of introduction of the volunteers who came from various educational backgrounds. After which, we, introduced Toybank, the   history of Toybank, Shweta Chari, the CEO’s thought process behind starting the organization, the Seriousness of Play, and its impact on children. It was a very interactive session where the volunteers asked questions regarding their doubts, the kind of toys & games that are played, and the type of volunteering that can be done. Some of the volunteers also personally came and asked questions and interacted with the VA team. Toy Story – Our Better World Jan 2013, a film made by Toybank was also shown to the volunteers which emotionally impacted them and they were fascinated by the work Toybank had done so far.

After the Introduction, the volunteers were invited to play Memory Skills, a game that requires you to pay attention and memorize pictures, for which during the first round they seemed nervous but after they started getting a hang of it, the competitiveness and their attention towards the game increased. They started enjoying and commenting on each other’s moves, which made it all the more fun. The Induction ended with the volunteers signing the Promise Card and the volunteers promising to assist the organization in any which way they can.

Toymakers Meet

2nd April, 2018

April began on a super note for Toybank as Shweta Chari was invited to be the guest speaker at Zephyr’s Toymakers Meet. Zephyr is well known in India as a leading manufacturer of toys and is also a supporter of Toybank’s message of the Power of Play. Many of Zephyr’s games such as Mechanix, Oranges and lemons and Memory skills are used in Toybank Play Centers.

Preluding the talk, The Managing Director of Zephyr toys, Mr Zaheer, highlighted the need of making toys with quality materials and how important it is to Make in India so that we are not engulfed by global economics and neglect the needs of domestic industries especially the Indian Toy industry

Speaking at the forum, Shweta highlighted the reach and need of Toybank’s work and how the country ought to push for policy level change when it comes to access to play for all.

She also questioned the gender discrimination that modern toys tend to promote.

“Why should a kitchen set be only a toy for girls when many of the top chefs in the world are men? Or why should a car be only a boy’s toy when there are so many women engineers today?”

These quips, among others, got the audience of toy distributors and toy manufacturers thinking!    

Following on, Madhulika from the Toybank Welfare team shared actual stories of children from Toybank Play centers and how the medium of play changed their perception and attitude towards education and the people around them.

Among the stories, she recalled an incident when children at a particular rural center were very passive and non-responsive despite her best efforts to conduct fun activities. However, upon revealing the board games she had brought along, there was a sudden excited gasp from them. Their listless demeanor had been transformed instantly into enthusiasm by the prospect of play!

Toybank’s work was well appreciated by all gathered with some asking how they could be a part of the change.  This was a step forward towards Toybank’s ambitions.

(You too can be a part of the change too. Find out about volunteering opportunities with Toybank) 

Toys Sorting

Hello Toybankers,

At Toybank, we segregate all toys into six categories based on:

·         Strategy

·         Puzzle

·         Blocks

·         Alphabetical

·         Numerical

·         General

Each category of toys targets particular developmental needs in the children we work with and it is very important that the toys are sorted accordingly.

Toybank had a toy sorting event where our super enthusiastic volunteers helped us segregate the toys we had collected into different categories.

Every year we collect a massive number of toys for our distribution events and so the sorting seems like an endless process but extremely fun. Our volunteers had a great time learning new games.

We're excited by their energy and enthusiasm and love their willingness to spend time with us

You too can be a part of this incredible experience. Contact us to know more on how to become a Toybanker today!  

Gond Painting Workshop at Kala Ghoda

7th February, 2018

The mess, the joy, and the challenges of painting using different patterns, is a form of Gond art painting. Aditya Birla World Academy Students conducted a workshop on Gond Art for the Gilderlane students. The workshop started with educating our students about the tribal art form. Our students had to decide if and how they wanted to incorporate their painting using the foundational patterns.  Along with lot of excitement and enthusiasm students developed their skills of observation through this workshop.

The Gond tribal community is one of the central India’s largest native communities and their art is an expression of their everyday quest for life.  The Gond art engagement with the belief that “viewing a good image causes good luck”. Gond art transposed onto paper and canvass with talented artists showcasing their skills. Each student experienced the entire process of Gond Art painting, beginning with drawing, coloring and ending it by the double lined outlines, squiggles, dots and styled it their way!

Sensitization- How to conduct a play session at RBK International School.

15^th February, 2018

Play sessions!! That’s where the real magic happens. It is the most integral part of Toybank. An orientation session on how to conduct a play session was held at RBK international school. 

Children have enormous energy. They are spontaneous and social and hence what better than to get young children teach other children? Yes, the 6^th std students are going to conduct play sessions for our Toybank children.  It is extremely overwhelming to see how these students know so much about play and the importance it has in one’s life. The questions by the students and their wonderful answers impressed us highly. Sessions like these not only make our classrooms purposeful but also a lot more engaging. 

Sensitization at Campion School

15^th February, 2018

Team Toybank got an opportunity to address 140 primary students at Campion School, Fort. There was a lot of buzz and the children seemed to be excited about the session. 

The sensitization session is conducted in order to spread awareness about our vision.

Meeting children, talking to them and listening to their perspectives - is always very enlightening. These children had conducted a collection drive for our Toybank children and it was amazing to know how they were so happy about giving their best games and toys to our children. They were asked different question to which they answered very beautifully. It is amazing to know how well these little kids understand the power of play. 

The Welfare of Stray Dogs

24^th Jan Wednesday

India has a huge share of stray dogs and this is evident literally at every street corner. In reference to this, The Welfare of stray dogs conducted a session for students of Mohili Village Marathi BMC School. The Welfare of stray dogs is a Mumbai based organization working to eliminate rabies in Mumbai and to educate the people about rabies prevention & other street​dog issues.

The session was of great learning for the students at Mohini Village, it promoted massive stray issues and how should one deal with it. The students got a deep insight about the different precautions to be taken after a stray dog bite.The organization educated the students about the safety of dog bite, feeding hygiene and sterilization. The students were amazed to know about the various abilities a dog has. The session did instil a sense of care and responsibility among the students. It had been a success! 

Sensitization at Aditya Birla World Academy

Date: 5^th February 2018

Do you love playing? The sensitization of the 2^nd graders at Aditya Birla World Academy started with this question and like expected the children were enthusiastic and shouted ‘yes’!!

 What kind of toys should one donate? The answers from the children left us astounded. Very firmly one child responded “we should donate our favorite toys/games to less privileged children and not the ones we do not like playing with”.

It is amazing to see how children understand the value of play and being kind. These students further shared their thoughts about the collection drive held at the school. They were extremely happy and excited to donate their favorite games/toys to Toybank. Ishaan a 7 year old made an incredibly insightful statement, when asked what message would you like Toybank to give children who are less privileged and have not been fortunate enough to even play.

He said, please tell those children “Be happy that you’re born in this world. Don’t feel sad about it. We are there to take care of you and we will make you happy”