The Story of how Toy Share began
By Eddie Boyle
Eddie
Boyle in the very first Toy Share store after it had just been painted....(the
wooden toys in the picture were donated by the Ilawarra Woodworkers
Group
Toy Share began in September 2001, more as a good-will gesture for a sick Neighbour than some dynamic business concept.
My next door neighbour
(Jock) had undergone an operation to remove a Cancerous Kidney. He
was a very active man and was always tinkering with things...but after the
operation, he wasn't able to do the things he used to do. So I tried to think
of ways I could keep his spirits up and keep him busy at the same time
(I'm a firm believer that people need a purpose in life - it keeps you
motivated - gets you out of bed in the morning - and provides fulfilment)
I was worried that Jock's debilitation would cause him
increased frustration and a feeling of worthlessness....so.... I went
around to a few of my friends and asked if they had any old bikes or
toys that we could fix up and donate to charity. I would hand the bikes over
the fence to Jock and ask him if he could help me fix them up so I
could give them to sick or disadvantaged kids. It worked a treat! Jock would
spend hours tinkering with the bikes and then hand them back over the fence
when he had them fixed.
What happened after
this amazed even me!!
I was a Manager
with Mission Australia at the time and encountered lots of families who
were struggling, I began offering the toys and bikes that Jock and I had
repaired to the children of those families...The word soon got out that Eddie
from Mission was giving away toys and needed more toys. There were days when I
would turn up at my office only to find it choc-a-bloc with bags upon bags of
toys, games, bikes and bears. My house was coming down with toys and my garage
was filling up at a rapid rate - I was inspired and overwhelmed equally.
Around that same time,
Mission's Big Heart Op Shop had opened in Kenny St, Wollongong and I went
around to have a look at their new Warehouse. I noticed a small, empty
building next to it and I made the necessary enquiries. I discovered the
little run down building wasn't being used (probably because it was absolutely
filthy) so I asked if I could use it to store some of the toys that had been
donated and was relieved when I received a favourable response.
Most 'normal' people
take 4 weeks off work to go on holidays and relax - not me - I took my
holiday leave in small amounts each week (every Thursday & Friday for 10
weeks). Alison (my wife) and I spent every Thursday, Friday & Saturday
(plus every evening) cleaning, scrubbing, painting and polishing until we
had that little place looking like a proper toy store. I then built shelves,
laid carpet and decorated the store with all the donated toys. I sent gift
certificates to all the major charities and asked them to offer them (free of
charge) to any family they knew that was facing financial hardship...soon our
little store was full of people, all of whom were extremely thankful for
the service we provided.....but the store wasn't depleting of toys...if
anything we were receiving even more donations...we began offering
Certificates of appreciation to those children who donated their toys so
others may benefit. We were very moved by the incredible community support and
overwhleming 'spirit of sharing'
The general public
began asking if they could purchase the toys...so we established 2
beneficiaries who would receive any net profits generated from the
sale of toys (South Coast School for Children with Autism and the
Illawarra Society for Crippled Children). We set up a Board of Management and
we registered 'Toy Share Incorporated' as a non-profit association. Thus was
the birth of Toy Share..'Australia's First Community Toy Store'!!
The following year,
Toy Share was successful in securing a Work for the Dole sponsorship
contract, which didn't bring in much money, but did bring the much-needed
man-power.
I had left Mission
Australia and assumed another senior Management position within another
Industry and every week-end, public holiday and day off, I'd be picking
up toys, dropping off leaflets or busying myself in Toy Share building shelves
or repairing toys.
Disaster hit at the
beginning of 2004 when we couldn't renew the lease on the building we were in
as it was ear-marked for demolition. This set me on the search for new
premises. The only place available that would offer the space we needed and
allow a short term tenancy agreement was going to cost me $25,000pa ...I
say 'me' because Toy Share had very little income and absolutely no capital
(except for the blood, sweat and tears of Alison and I...which banks don't
accept as security :) ). The board met..and I convinced them I could
make it work...so we signed up for 6 months. At the end of our lease, the
Landlord increased the rent to $35,000....We were devastated!... In April 2004
The Board of Toy Share Inc decided to begin winding it up, as it
wasn't financially viable and unfortunately Alison and I had used up all
our money....
That night, after our
Board meeting, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't understand how something so
inspiring, so beneficial to those that were most disadvantaged within our
community, could just stop. We had more than 15 volunteers at this stage,
people who were giving their own time to bring joy to others. We had 10 people
with Disabilities who also volunteered their time to help prepare the toys for
hampers. We were providing services to children from Barnardos, parents
affected by Mental Illness through Illawarra Mental Health Service. We had
distributed over 500 Gift Vouchers. We WERE making a difference and I wasn't
prepared to 'wind it up' simply because the money wasn't there....so....At 2am
I began hand-writing letters to local business people asking if they
had a premise that Toy Share could use...
On Monday morning,
Alison rang to say she had been visited by John Molnar, a local property developer,
who received my letter and after suffering the tragic death of his
own child last year, wanted to help. He offered us an old builder warehouse in
Fairy Meadow with the instructions 'If you can turn this dump into a toy store
- you can have it' .....so we did...and Toy Share was saved!
The premises at Fairy
Meadow was offered to us 'Rent Free' and we decided to use the money we
would have otherwise spent on rent, to open another Community Toy Store in
Warilla to service the disadvantaged in the Ilawarra's Souhern Suburbs...'Toy
Share 2' was officially opened on December 6th 2004 and is flying along.
In October 2004 I surrendered
my full time Management position and Alison and I now devote our full
attention to Toy Share (as well as our two children ofcourse, Declan 9
& Callum 5). We have been granted another work for the dole sponsorship,
are presently training our volunteers towards a CertII in Business, have
introduced on-line marketing to enable us to promote our services to a wider
community, have been asked to establish several more Community Toy Stores
in Sydney and Victoria and will distribute over 2000 gift certificates to
families in need between now and Christmas.....
I also have a belief that 'Life is more about the memories you make than the money you make' (but the bank doesn't accept memories as security either and bills still need to be paid) So Alison and I are hoping, that if things continue as they are, we may be able to draw a part-time salary before May and become Toy Share's first full-time, paid, employees.
Written for CLW By Eddie Boyle, May 2005