Enriching Lives: The Toy Bank Story

Abstract

The concept of charity is not a new one. Indians have always believed in sharing their old, used and no-longer needed items with those who cannot afford to buy. The Government of India has tried to extend this concept to corporate, whose business is the “business of profits”. This paper is a case study of one such organization which took this Indian culture of giving to society and formalizing it. What started as a hazy, yet sincere dream of placing a toy in the hands of every child in India was converted into reality through the establishment of an NGO, Toybank. The founder, Shweta Chari, a young and energetic Electronics engineer, is an entrepreneur with a difference. Fresh out of college, and all of 22 years of age, Shweta set up Toybank in 2004, with a vision of “A world where all children are empowered through healthy play”. With the help of partner organizations, Toybank sets up toy libraries to create spaces for children to play with. The play sessions are instructional as well as fun, keeping in mind Toybank’s core philosophy of “Nurturing children through play”. Since its inception, Toybank has impacted more than 38000 children bringing smiles and the right to play back in their lives.