How Toy Donations Transform Lives: Insights from Alyssa Van Vactor

EP066_10-22-24_Alyssa Van Vactor

Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to Toy Business Unboxed, your gateway to the secrets of the toy industry. Here, Jason Hsieh, a toy entrepreneur and expert in the field. “Every product we develop is really inspired by some of the real life experience that we have with our son.” “60 percent of all toys last year were sold on Amazon.”

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Jason Hsieh: hi. Welcome to another episode of Toy Business Unbox. Today we’re joined by Alyssa, from Operation Christmas Child, a project that delivers shoes box filled with toys and essential for children in needs across the globe. She will be sharing the impact that the toy donation have on this children, especially in those in the remote [00:01:00] and underserved community. And we also learn more about how the companies and individual can also contribute to this life changing mission of theirs. thank you so much for joining our podcast episode today.

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah, thank you for having me.

Jason Hsieh: Can you start out by sharing with our audience a little bit more about operation Christmas Child and how they got started and how this whole thing worked?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah, absolutely. So Operation Christmas Child is part of the ministry samaritan’s Purse and Samaritan’s Purse has been around for over 50 years and the whole goal is to provide aid care to those of war and famine all over the world. So when you have wars, when you have natural disasters that come in they come in with field hospitals and convoys of food and all of that, that’s needed, doctors shelter and operation Christmas Child was, is a part of that. And we were started about 30 years ago when a gentleman in England contacted our CEO Franklin Graham and said, can you fill shoe boxes of gifts for children here that are underprivileged, that [00:02:00] are desperate for something, whether it’s hope or joy, something.

And so that first year, 30 years ago, they gathered local partners and packed almost 30,000 shoe boxes of gifts. And then from the, I know, just in a few short weeks and months. They came from Canada and America and after that they said if we can do this in just a few short months, imagine what we can do if we have a whole year to plan. So over the last 30 years, we have packed over 220 million shoe boxes and distributed them in over 170 countries to unreached people, groups of children that are living in orphanages and underprivileged, and children that have never received a shoebox before, or never received a gift to that matter of anything, toys, anything before. It’s been an incredible growth that we have seen over the last 30 years and all just to provide love and hope to children.

Jason Hsieh: That is a lot of shoe boxes.

Alyssa Van Vactor: A lot of shoe boxes. That’s almost 12 million a [00:03:00] year right now.

Jason Hsieh: Whoa, that’s a lot. So like operationally, how do you sustain that many? Like you have a lot of big facility. I, believe

Alyssa Van Vactor: we do. Yeah, we have, so I’m in Charlotte, North Carolina, and this is our biggest processing center, but we actually have eight processing centers across the United States. California, Texas, Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago. And they see we have in November, what we call National Collection Week. So people that have been packing shoe boxes all year long volunteers. We have hundreds of thousands of volunteers that are packing shoe boxes all year long and collecting them in their house and their church. And then during our national Collection Week in November. They bring all their shoe boxes and drop them off at pickup spots. And those are oftentimes churches or we have partnerships with Chick-fil-A’s and all those shoe boxes are loaded into trucks and brought into our eight distribution centers where they are processed in the month of [00:04:00] December, and then loaded up onto our containers ready to be shipped out internationally.

Jason Hsieh: I see. That’s incredible. What would you say, what are some of the major impact of those toy donation on the child in the underprivileged or remote area?

Alyssa Van Vactor: I. Yeah. And, like you said, underprivileged remote areas. So we have over 80,000 international volunteers across the world. And we have field offices and they are literally searching in their unreached areas for children that have never seen another human before, that have never heard the gospel before. And everything that we’re doing is we wanna bring these children not only a gift box, but we wanna bring them hope, enjoy and love and let them know they’re loved by God and that there is a plan for their life, that they’re not just here. A lot of times these childrens are living in orphanages or they don’t have shoes. They don’t have drinking water. Yeah. And so these shoe boxes full of gifts. I have an example here. This is an example of what a shoebox looks like.

Jason Hsieh: Oh, wow. [00:05:00] Okay.

Alyssa Van Vactor: So just loaded full of gifts. A soccer ball a lot of these children love sports equipment, so a soccer ball with a pump and plush toys that they can squeeze and love on any size plush toy that can fit a shoebox, school supplies. Brands, notebooks, colored pencils t-shirts, clothes. So you imagine being a child that doesn’t, has never received a gift before, has never received a toy. And we you guys are toy makers, creators. You make toys to bring joy and to give children something to let their brains work and function and let build creativity. Imagine being a child that’s never received any of that before, that’s never seen a toy before, and suddenly they have a fidget spinner. They have a plush that they can squeeze and hold onto. Something that they can interact and build and play and interact with their friends, a soccer ball that they can suddenly play. The joy that brings a child. And the way that they suddenly feel loved and seen. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re doing it in the name of Jesus, and it’s to bring the gospel to [00:06:00] these unreached people groups, and just to let these children know that they’re loved. That’s what we’re doing.

Jason Hsieh: Yeah. Thank you for doing that. That really does have a very big impact for the children. That sounds.

And how do you determine what toys to include and what not to include when there’s you can only face so much toys, right? Shoe box, right?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah. So obviously a standard shoe box is about 12 inches. We make sure that the toys can fit inside the shoebox and we don’t wanna have a toy that’s so big that it takes up the whole shoebox. We want the shoe boxes to be fun and filled to the top. So we really, when we have donors that have items to donate, we wanna make sure it’s not breakable first of all, because it does have to travel internationally and sit in containers and that it doesn’t have liquid. We are constantly working with our international teams that work with customs to say what are the different rules? What are some of the basic things that can go in and out So we cannot take candy or liquids. Even bars of soaps. A lot of our countries won’t let us send soap [00:07:00] in.

Jason Hsieh: Oh, really?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah. Yeah. And anything liquid toothpaste, we can’t send toothpaste in. So we try to make sure that we send the most basic things that customs will not flag and turn away. But at the same time fits inside of a shoebox so that shoebox is loaded full. So making sure it’s the right size, making sure that it’s something that it would bring a child joy. So that could be personal hygiene items, toys school supplies, cars but, things that take up space. A good amount of space that kids can play with that can fit in the shoebox is what we’re looking for.

Jason Hsieh: I see. And you mentioned a number, which is mind blowing. How many toys, like shoe boxes are you doing a year? 12 million, which is a lot. What are some challenges that you face when you are gathering that amount of toys and distributing them across the world?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah, that’s a great question. So my role as corporate relations is to work with companies like toy companies that have surplus inventory every year that, that they need to clear outta their warehouse. And so for me, my goal every year is to locate [00:08:00] 2000 pallets full of toys that can be used as filler items in our shoe boxes. And so every year that’s our goal because we have, as 12 million shoe boxes is a lot of shoe boxes. And so when those come into our processing center, if they’re not full, and again, these are volunteers packing these shoe boxes and then bringing them to us. So when we receive that shoebox, if it does have something dangerous inside or something that we cannot take or use. One of the things I didn’t mention is. War, a war color or an army guy, war guys. Anything political, we can’t take any of that because it would get flagg through customs. And a lot of our dangerous countries don’t want children receiving those things. It would be a danger to the child to receive like a gun or something like that. A toy gun. So we make sure when all those shoe boxes come in, that they’re full of things that can go through customs. And if they’re not and we have to take an item out, we wanna fill the item. And that’s why we need 2000 pallets of donated toys and inventory that we can put in these shoe boxes every year.

So that’s a big challenge, is making sure that [00:09:00] companies can donate those items to us year over year, and that we have enough good quality items. Sometimes companies call me and they say, Hey, I’ve got a really great item, but it might be too big or it might be breakable or something we can’t take. So it’s always tricky finding the right amount of items and the right size of items.

Jason Hsieh: Do you have any memorable story of how the toy donation actually changed like a child’s life that you could share with our audience?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Oh, so many. So a couple stories I’ll tell you. There was an orphanage where a child I believe it was in Russia, and this child was just wanting a family to belong to so badly. And the volunteers were bringing the shoe boxes in and they oftentimes ask these children, what is it that you would like to see in your gift box? And the boy said, A family. And of course that would be so difficult, right? You can’t just put a family and connect that. However, the amazing thing is that volunteer that packed, that shoebox, put lots of great toys in there, and then put a picture of [00:10:00] themselves in that shoebox and through communication channels and volunteers, they were able to get that story back to the family that packed that shoebox with a picture of themselves and that family ended up coming over and adopting that child and bringing that child back to America to live with them all because you had the shoebox with their family’s picture in it.

I have another great story of one of our public speakers. So a lot of our shoebox, a lot of the children that receive these shoe boxes, it may be the only gift box they ever receive in their entire life, and that can be life changing for them because. One of our spokespersons name is Alex, and we have about 80 spokespeople across the world that received a shoebox as a child, grew up and said, this changed my life so much. I wanna work for Operation Christmas child, and I wanna be a spokesperson and share my story with everybody else so that they know the impact it had. And Alex was in the randan genocide. His whole family had been killed. He was escaping gunmen, constantly hiding, finally got [00:11:00] out and was able to run an escape and get to a town that had an orphanage where they were able to take him in. And he lived in the orphanage for several years, and after his first year of being there, operation Christmas child came through and gave gift boxes to the children in that orphanage. Here, alex was this child who had lost all his family, lost everything, who escaped genocide, and he received this shoebox. And it was the first time that he ever heard that there was a purpose for his life and that he was loved and he was given toys and a gift of his own. And that gave him purpose. That gave him a reason to push hard and to try to go to school and go to college and he was eventually able to travel to America and he now lives here in America and is a spokesperson.

So many stories of these children, those are big stories, right? But then there’s little stories too of a child that there’s another story that I could tell you of three children just this summer that were in an orphanage that had no names. No families, no birthdays. They had no identity at all. And they got a [00:12:00] shoebox and they got toys, and the volunteers were able to give them names and give them a sense of belonging and who they are and give them a sense of purpose. So many stories like that of just children, millions of children, every year they get a shoebox that just have no purpose, have no, no hope, and this just gives them, they feel that sense of loving and hope. Love and hope.

Jason Hsieh: Yeah. I think some of us that live in the western world and we take a lot of things for granted, it’s almost excess. Sometimes it’s, we live in a little bit of with all the gift that we give to our own children. Especially in United States and other western countries. And with all the story that you shared that really give people more perspective of how we should be more grateful for what we currently have. And I think for the toy company that’s listening to today’s episode, how can they also participate? What are some of the criteria? I think you mentioned a few earlier, but if they also have some excess inventory that they would love [00:13:00] to participate in your foundation’s mission. What is the next step?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah. And, just for companies to know, we take imperfect items or returns, things like that. So we have companies that will call us and say, I have an old logo or an old name, or something was printed incorrectly and I can’t use it, so I can’t sell anymore. Or I have a bunch of product that was returned that I can’t sell anymore. We can take all of that as long as it’s new. So if a company wants to get involved, there’s lots of ways they can get involved. First of all, on our website. There’s a gifting kind page that I have and that goes straight to me. And there’s a form that a corporation can fill out to say I have extra inventory. And we pick it up free of charge anytime during the year. Anywhere in the country, in the United States. And we will go pick it up, we’ll bring it back to our warehouse. We’ll process it, and we’ll give a tax deduction letter within two weeks.

So that is really a great partnership because oftentimes companies have too much inventory that they don’t know what to do with and [00:14:00] whether it’s a couple boxes or whether it’s truckloads of inventory. We can take it and we can use it as long as it fits in the shoebox. And another way is just to email me and just emailing me and saying, Hey, I’ve got items to donate. I’m ready. And then we start that process of what is the details on that, donation and I just collect pallet sizes or box sizes, height and weight and location information, and then we can get that ball rolling and oftentimes we can have it picked up within a few days. And out of their warehouse.

Another way is we have a lot of partners that want to get their staff involved and they wanna feel part of this. We have great content, video content, social media content, all of that where they can show their staff a video, Hey, we’re donating product to this company and here’s what they’re doing with it. Here’s what these children are receiving these gifts, what it’s like for them and what it feels like for them. And you can watch the videos and just see joy radiating on these children’s smiles in their faces as they open their shoe boxes and so they can pack shoe boxes in their office. We have a lot of companies that will do an app, an office packing party, and they’ll get a bunch of [00:15:00] shoe boxes and they’ll take some of their inventory and people will bring in other items and they’ll pack their own shoe boxes.

And then a third way is they can come and process shoe boxes with us in December and volunteer alongside of our volunteers and our staff. And I have lots of partners that do that. And they’ll bring some of their staff, they’ll wear their shirts for their companies. They’ll take their own video content to put on social media, and they will help us get the shoebox, open it up, check things. Put some filler item in and then send it down the line and load it up onto our in our cartons and into our trucks. And so those are great ways that people can get involved. And then of course, just sharing who we are to others. I have a lot of partners toy companies that will tell their friends there other toy companies. Hey, have you heard of Operation Christmas Child? If you have extra inventory, they’re a great place to send it and they could pick it up free of charge. So spreading the word and praying for us and praying for our operation. ’cause obviously, like you said, 12 million shoe boxes a year is quite a bit, so

Jason Hsieh: it’s a lot. For sure, for sure. And one [00:16:00] particular area i’m especially passionate about is really children with special needs because that’s what my own toy brand is all about.

What role does some of your toy that you are sending out to Operation Christmas Child that also help children with special needs across the world?

Alyssa Van Vactor: So believe it or not, an unreached people group that people have not identified that we’re reaching out to is children with special needs. And whether that’s blind or deaf or children that are wheelchair bound, many of these countries that are living in poverty, when a parent has a child with special needs, they cannot take care of that child. They don’t have the resources or the means, the medication, the doctors, any of that. And so there are homes that we have partnered with across the world that take in children of special needs and many of these children are wheelchair bound. They don’t speak, they can’t walk. And there’s people that take care of them. And so we have partnered with a lot of those and I just watched a video this summer of it’s a group that we can’t share on our social media. So unfortunately we can’t see it. But there were children that were wheelchair bound. And they had special [00:17:00] boxes of items. And this video showed this box coming in and being placed in front of a child and a volunteer came over and helped them to open their shoebox. And there was a doll inside a plush doll. And this girl, they just brought the doll and she just took it up to her head and she just was crying and giggling and laughing and just snuggling this doll. And so many of those children have never received a gift again. They are struggling to survive, to be alive.

And I know you create toys for kids with autism and A DHD and I have a child that is, has ADHD and I’ve a former teacher and so I’ve worked with children with special needs and just to be able to give them something special and unique for them, they feel special and that they feel loved is really important to us. And so we are identifying the blind, the deaf, and the special needs children. And we are making sure that they get the gospel and we’re making sure that they get their own shoe boxes that are special for them.

Jason Hsieh: Yeah, I think sometimes it is very heart breaking for [00:18:00] me as well is a lot of the country, even in a lot of the Asian country where, you know I used to live in Japan, like I shared with you before the interview. Even in Japan, there’s still a lot of stigma around like special needs and disabilities even, especially for invisible disability like autism and A DHD because it’s hard to know? and that’s a cultural stigma of people who try to hide it behind the curtain or hide it under the table and refuse to talk about it. That lead to lack of resources, opportunity, and even support and therapy for a lot of those children that still need a lot of the help for them to be successful in their life, so to speak. And I think part of your mission and our mission is similar. We’re also trying to empower, support and educate kids to different means. And we have a similar goal as far as how can we create a better world for Older children in the future generation.

So looking forward, what are some of the project that Operation Christmas Children [00:19:00] is child is working on into 2025 and beyond?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah. Like we said, we have unreached people groups that we are working to identify in, and we have a goal that in that we want to reach every single unreached people group that there is across the world. And we’re doing that through over 80,000 volunteers worldwide. And field offices that we have. Like I said earlier, continuing to pack more and more shoe boxes. So getting to 12 million shoe boxes this year and continuing on further than that it takes, all of us, it takes all the volunteers and all of the toy companies that have things to donate. And then for me personally, like I said, trying to secure donation of 2000 plus pallets a year of donated goods and that number. So every year those numbers continue to grow. The number of volunteers, our goals are the number of volunteers continuing to grow. The number of shoe boxes we pack continuing to grow, but ultimately it’s to reach every unreached people group and child there is across the world because we never give a [00:20:00] shoebox to the same person twice. Those are pretty lofty goals, but we do it all in the name of Jesus and we couldn’t do without the support of prayer and partners and volunteers and everybody that’s out there and toy companies.

Jason Hsieh: So how are you currently outreaching to toy companies right now? Do you go to trade shows or do you just like directly contact them?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah, that’s a great question. So I do attend as many trade shows as possible. I met you at Astra this year in St. Louis, and so attending those trade shows and walking around and just networking and sharing who we are and what we’re doing, and a lot of times our toy companies there will say, oh my gosh, yes, I have old inventory that I can’t use anymore or I have liquidations and whatever is not sold. So really trying to help. We wanna help the toy companies as much as they’re helping us. It’s a mutual partnership and relationship. So that’s one way. I use LinkedIn a lot, so LinkedIn’s been great for me to network and communicate with companies that are out there. I also we have a database of partners that we have met and talked to over the last 30 years, so reaching out to them [00:21:00] through newsletters and emails and phone calls. I love to personally visit our partners as well and show them pictures and stories of how their product personally impacted a child, if I can. Yeah, things like that.

Jason Hsieh: Even remind me of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that foundation.

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah.

Jason Hsieh: One of my daughter was a cancer survivor and she was also part of the Make-A-Wish program, and they also did a lot of grazing for my daughter. So I think that’s something that’s very similar. They also have a lot of wonderful work they do as a foundation themself. And do you currently also partner with other foundation as well?

Alyssa Van Vactor: Yeah, we do. We have other foundations that we partner with. Many other foundations like we are doing humanitarian aid or providing care for children and others. And oftentimes if some of our partners get donated items that they can’t use, they will contact their other foundation partners. If we get donated items that we can’t use. We partner up with [00:22:00] other foundations and we share those gifting kinds. So if a partner has products and pallets of inventory that they send us, if there’s things that we can’t use, we don’t purge it, we re-donate it with our other partner foundations as well. And like Bombas is a great foundation that they donate socks to people that are helping to fight homelessness and poverty. So we have other partners like that will donate inventory to us as well.

Jason Hsieh: Okay. Yeah, that’s great. So how can people find you online?

Alyssa Van Vactor: We are on all social media channels and I’m on LinkedIn, so personally, Alyssa Van Vactor on LinkedIn. Our Samaritans Purse has Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn as well. And then Operation Christmas Child has LinkedIn, Twitter I’m sorry, not LinkedIn, facebook, Instagram, Twitter. And so you can find us on all of those. And then our website, which is samaritanspurse.org. We have an Operation Christmas child page on there with lots of information and they can find us on that as well and reach out.

Jason Hsieh: Okay. Thank you so much. [00:23:00] We’ll make sure we also include that to the show note of today’s episode.

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