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Toys for Texans is a non-profit organization that began in 2021, intending to support underprivileged children across Texas.
Through perseverance and grit, the team is proud to have helped thousands of children.
During the midst of their ninth-grade year in high school, the board of directors at Toys for Texans, Carson Sheffield, Piyush Chintalwar, Samir Alam, Mitul Gouni, and Marc D’Jamoos, recognized a growing poverty issue plaguing their home state and devised a plan to create something bigger than themselves.
Starting with a small whiteboard idea in their 8th-period biology class, the newly founded team planned out a simple toy drive two weeks prior to Christmas day.
The teens faced many issues, lacking materials, funding, and credibility as an organization. With limited resources and no pre-existing network to draw from, they had to find ways to collect toys and distribute them to those in need.
Undeterred, the board worked endless hours to receive certification as a non-profit organization utilizing social media and newly-developed business connections to expand the team’s brand and reach.
With an ever-growing connection base and a fast accumulation of funding, the team set to host their first fundraising event.
Slated to change the lives of many through a partnership with their local homeless shelter, The Samaritan Inn, the team decided to host a carnival within a school lunchroom.
Considering everything, the event was a failure. It lacked advertising and brought in a much smaller amount than the team expected. Instead of giving up, the board decided to persevere and split the non-financial-based side of the organization into four departments, marketing, fundraising, communications, and technology to ensure success in the future.
With the division, the board began to delegate their responsibilities to newly higher officers that operated within these departments. With over 300 applicants and members, only the prime 40 remain today.
As time went on, Toys for Texans has grown exponentially in popularity and size, changing thousands of lives. With over $60,000 raised, Toys for Texans has made it far, all from having been born from an idea sketched on a whiteboard doused in expo marker.
Today, Toys for Texans is an established 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, on a mission to bring hope to those who need it most.
AN UPDATE FROM TOYS FOR TEXANS
Their original plan was simple: host a two-week toy drive and give the donations to a local homeless shelter. Now here we are today.
by Matthew Price
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