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TOYS'R'US RAISES
$3.9 MILLION TO BENEFIT THE MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION
Shaquille O'Neal (a.k.a. Shaq-A-Claus) and Customers United
to Deliver More Than 325,000 Toys to Kids in Need During the
Holiday Season, Demonstrating There Really is #NoWishTooBig
Toys'R'Us
just
announced that its 10th annual
nationwide fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys
for Tots Foundation raised $3.9 million and more than
325,000 toys, helping make millions of Christmas wishes come
true for kids in need across the U.S during the holiday
season. During the 2013 campaign, customers spread holiday
cheer by donating new, unwrapped toys at Toys'R'Us and
Babies'R'Us stores
nationwide and by making monetary contributions in stores
and online at Toysrus.com/ToysforTots.
As part of this year?s program, the company once again
partnered with NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal to introduce a
new #NoWishTooBig social media initiative that inspired
hundreds of additional kids and families to get involved and
demonstrate the true meaning of holiday giving.
"We are so thankful for the generosity of our
customers, as well as the steadfast support of our
employees, during our Toys for Tots campaign this year,'"
said Kathleen Waugh, Chairman, Toys'R'Us Children's Fund.
"It is gratifying to know that together, we have been able
to bring joy to some of the more than 16 million children
who continue to live in poverty in the U.S."
For the fifth
consecutive year, Shaquille O'Neal a.k.a Shaq-A-Claus
donned his alter ego to encourage customer donations and
support for Toys for Tots. For more than two decades,
Shaquille has made it his personal mission to give back to
kids less fortunate during the holiday season, when the gift
of a toy means the most to a child. Additionally this year,
Shaquille championed the company's #NoWishTooBig program,
encouraging even more kids and parents to pay it forward
through a fun, free drawing activity, which helped collect
more toys for kids in need.
"I
know firsthand that the gift of a toy on Christmas can
change the life of a child. And, it is always my great
pleasure to partner with Toys'R'Us and Toys for Tots to make
the holiday season a bit brighter for millions of children
in need," said Shaquille O'Neal. "Shaq-A-Claus could never
have granted so many wishes without the help of big-hearted
Toys?R?Us customers and kids from across the country. Thank
you to all who helped me show there's #NoWishTooBig!"
Shaq-A-Claus and Toys'R'Us Kids Came Together to Prove There
Really was #NoWishTooBig This Holiday Season
New to this year's campaign, Shaq-A-Claus asked kids to
share their suggestions of toys to add to The
Great Big Shaq-A-Claus Wish List, a list of toy
recommendations to donate to a child who might otherwise go
without a gift to open on Christmas morning. Seven hundred
kids across the U.S. including an entire Atlanta-area
elementary school joined the #NoWishTooBig movement by
drawing pictures of their favorite toys and sharing them on
Facebook (Facebook.com/Toysrus),
Twitter and Instagram (@ToysRus) using the hashtag #NoWishTooBig.
For each of these 700 drawings shared using the dedicated
hashtag, Toys'R'Us donated a toy to the Marine Toys for Tots
Foundation, further helping children in need.
In addition, hundreds of online shoppers also purchased
playthings off the The
Great Big Shaq-A-Claus Wish List, which were shipped
directly to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to be
distributed across the country.
Hundreds of Generous Customers Helped 'Wish It Forward' with
Layaway
Inspired by the many stories of generous citizens who
anonymously paid off another's layaway, for a second year,
Toys'R'Us pledged to ?Wish It Forward. For every layaway
balance paid off at a Toys'R'Us store as an act of kindness,
the company donated $200 worth of toys the approximate
average value of a layaway order created at Toys'R'Us
to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
The 'Wish It Forward' program was met with great enthusiasm
in Toys'R'Us stores nationwide, with 597 layaway orders
anonymously paid for by good Samaritans. And, as a result of
this program, the company provided Toys for Tots with
$119,400 worth of toys to help provide children in need
across the country with gifts to open on Christmas morning.
As
the largest retail partner in the history of the Marine Toys
for Tots Foundation, Toys'R'Us has raised over $35.5 million
and collected more than
4 million toys since the partnership began in 2004. To start
up this year's campaign, the Toys'R'Us Children's Fund, a
public charity affiliated with Toys'R'Us, Inc., provided a
$250,000 grant to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. The
Shaq-A-Claus #NoWishTooBig program was also supported by the
Toys'R'Us Children's Fund.
Charitable Giving at Toys'R'Us
The philanthropic mission of Toys'R'Us, Inc. and the
Toys'R'Us Children's Fund is to keep children safe and help
them in times of need. The Toys'R'Us Children's Fund
contributes millions of dollars annually to various
children's organizations, including those providing disaster
relief to victims of large-scale crises, as well as those
supporting America's military families. The Fund also
provides grants to leading special needs organizations and
has donated $1 million as the first Founding Partner of the
2014 Special Olympics USA Games. In addition to financial
and product donations, Toys'R'Us, Inc. hosts in-store and
online fundraising campaigns annually that raise millions of
dollars for the company's signature philanthropic partners.
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