Toys”R”Us Partners with Save the Children #PlayWithPurpose
Did you know that 15.5 million U.S. children live in poverty, and for many of those, playtime isn’t part of daily life? As a mom, that makes me so sad because playtime is not just for fun – it’s a part of childhood development. 10 minutes of play can improve a child‘s performance and play even enhances the progress of early development by 34%. Did you know how important play was to our children?
Facts About Play and Children
- Play builds the foundation for a lifetime of learning
- Pretend play with a child from 8 to 17 months old is linked to higher intellect at age 5
- Young children benefit from interaction, babbling, facial expressions and gestures, the absence of which from adults can lead to disparities in learning and behavior
- In one study, children ages 1 ½ to 2 ½ who were provided sets of plastic building bricks had significantly higher language scores six months later
- Even 10 minutes of play can improve a child’s performance, may encourage thinking and successfully controls behavior
- Children with access to a variety of toys reach higher levels of intellectual achievement
This week, Toys“R”Us announced Play With Purpose, a brand new fundraising and awareness campaign in partnership with Save the Children. Save the Children is a nonprofit committed to ensuring all U.S. children have a healthy start, protection from harm and the opportunity to become educated. Play With Purpose is designed to support Save the Children‘s early development programs – Early Steps to School Success, Literacy/Healthy Choices and the SummerBoost Initiative – which help children in some of America’s most underprivileged areas thrive. Through the good work of Save the Children’s early childhood development programs and field representatives, underprivileged families from Washington state to Washington D.C. are able to reap the benefits of hands-on involvement, as they embrace unstructured playtime in their homes.
Together, Toys“R”Us and Save the Children are embarking on a mission to provide some of the 15.5 million youth living in impoverished regions of the country with opportunities and resources to integrate purposeful play into their everyday lives; a factor proven critical in children’s emotional, physical and cognitive development and future growth.
How can you help? From February 17th through April 17th, customers can make cash donations at any Toys“R”Us or Babies“R”Us store, or online at Toysrus.com/PlayWithPurpose, to help bring learning through play to kids in need. Be sure to follow Toys“R”Us on Facebook, Twitter (#PlayWithPurpose) and Instagram for more information.
What did you learn from the video shared above?
What do you like about the Play For Purpose campaign?
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I think it is nice they are doing this. Creative play is such an important part of being a child and growing and developing normally. Our Last “R Us” store moved out of town, but I can still perhaps shop online for my niece. I can also share this post- which I will!
I’m a regular customer in our Toys R Us store, and they do a great job creating different programs for kids and parents. I reshared your article.
I love this so much! I’m always happy to see a big company like Toys R Us working to help make the world a better place.
Oh that’s so great! I love when a company supports a good cause, and it makes you feel really good about shopping there.
This is a fantastic campaign. Toys R Us does amazing work with so many programs.
That is terrible that some kids don’t have access to toys. This makes me sad too. Thank you Toys R Us for helping to put toys in the hands of underprivileged kids.
How wonderful that Toys R Us & Babies R Us are doing this! Playtime is filled with such imagination and gusto with children, it is disheartening to know that some go without it. It should be a time for fun, exploration, learning and socializing!
This is so awesome they are doing this. Every child should be able to play and learn.
I worked as a Nanny for several years. I learned so much about development and the importance of play. It was quite enlightening and I learned a ton!
I have always loved Toys R US and this just makes me love the company even more! I love helping out where I can esp when it comes to the kids! thanks for this share!
Every child should have access to toys, even if they’re small or simple. It’s so refreshing to see big companies like these give back to the community.
I can see how important it is for children to play. Especially for parents to take part of this fun moment in their children’s life. Amazing that Toys “R”Us is taking part of this campaign.
What a great collaboration of 2 really awesome companies! I’m glad to know that my Toys purchase will be doing so much more
This sounds like an awesome cause. Thanks for the cool tips, as well!
Omg what an awesome campaign!!! Way to go Toys R Us!! Love it when bigger companies help and give back!