IN ADVANCE OF YOUR TOY SHIPMENT:
Distribute To All Entities That Pick Up Toys For Distribution
Download Regional Release
Table of Contents
1. About Toy Express
Welcome to First Responders Children’s Foundation Toy Express. We are excited to bring joy to children of first responders and to children within your community.
First Responders Children’s Foundation’s Toy Express will deliver more than 250,000 free toys and masks to first responder agencies and hospitals which will then distribute the holiday cheer to children of first responders and to children in first responder communities. Every child will also receive a mask with their toy.
First Responders Children’s Foundation established the Toy Express with a generous toy donation from Mattel and American Girl and other Mattel products such as Hot Wheels®, Barbie® and Mega Bloks®. Additional sponsors include CSX, Good360, Hess Toy Truck, Jakks Pacific, MaskUSA.com, and Toys for Tots. In addition, generous individuals across the nation are helping bring holiday cheer to first responder families by making donations of toys and money. Transportation of toys and masks across the country is coordinated and provided by Total Quality Logistics (TQL) and their Moves that Matter program.
To make this program a success, please read the following information and communicate with our team throughout the duration of your holiday toy program. Your active participation in the First Responders Children’s Foundation Toy Express is essential to the success of the program. It also helps us share the impact that you are making in your community with our donors and partners including Mattel, American Girl, Jakks Toys, CSX, Good360, Hess Toy Truck, Jakks Pacific, MaskUSA.com, Toys for Tots, Total Quality Logistics (TQL) and their Moves that Matter program.
There are a few steps to follow that will activate your 2020 partnership with First Responders Children’s Foundation Toy Express. Please follow all the instructions below:
2. Register Receipt
E-mail toys@1stRCF.org and confirm:
- The name of your agency or company.
- Shipment has been received.
- Confirm the date of your toy distribution event(s) along with a short description (first responder agencies involved, community outreach, media/press outreach).
- Ask any questions that you may have.
- Log on to our web portal to access logos, how-to forms, press releases, photo and video releases: www.1stRCF.com/toy-express.
3. Capture Your Toy Story
It’s been a tough year, but what better way to celebrate the holidays than to share the smiles of children and first responders from coast to coast through pictures, videos and news stories!
We cannot tell this Toy Story without your help! We need you to summon your inner Steven Spielberg and document the magic of First Responders Children’s Foundation Toy Express. Using your cell phone camera is fine!
Please take videos/photos of the following:
- Toys arriving at your facility (beginning).
- Toys being prepared by your team for distribution (middle).
- Event day with lots of happy children, parents and your team (end).
- The Toy Express label and sponsor labels that are on pallets and included with the instructions. We want to recognize and thank our sponsors and donors for allowing Toy Express to happen from beginning to end.
Attached is a document that describes how to best capture a precious moment with video. A copy of a photo/ video release form is also attached. All instructions and release forms can be accessed on our Toy Express online toolbox www.1stRCF.com/toy-express. Scan the QR code below or visit 1strcf.memfox.io/bcawms to record your story. Pictures and releases can also be sent to toys@1stRCF.org. Post the QR Code at your event and encourage participants to share their story.
4. Share Your Story
Social Media:
Share your Toy Express story
by scanning this QR code
5. How to Take a Video
- When shooting videos with your cell phone, please use LANDSCAPE (horizontal) mode.
- Also, before you film, please go into your settings and set your phone on the highest resolution possible, ideally 1080 x 30 fps or 4k @ 30 fps.
- We prefer close ups with a few people in them to catch the emotion rather than group shots where people are standing stiff and still.
- Long lineups of people standing shot at a distance might capture everyone at the event, but they do not tell a story, and it is often hard to see everyone. So, if you can, please move in closer, encourage everyone to relax and smile and have fun! Our goal is to capture expressions of surprise and delight.
- The feeling we want to bring to life is one of joy and fun!
Everyone in the video must sign a release form. If the individual is not 18, it must be signed by their parent or legal guardian. Forms can be found at: https://1strcf.org/photo-video-release-form/.
6. Communications & Press Outreach
- Include information on Toy Express and about First Responders Children’s Foundation when communicating about the program.
- Use the attached template for a press announcement to local media.
- A press kit for download can be accessed at 1stRCF.org/toy-express. E-mail joanna@1stRCF.org with any media requests.
About First Responders Children’s Foundation:
For almost 20 years, First Responders Children’s Foundation has been providing college scholarships to the children of first responder parents who have been injured or lost in the line of duty. The Foundation also awards Page 7 of 8 grants to families enduring significant financial hardship and supports, promotes, and facilitates educational activities and programs created and operated by first responder organizations to benefit children or the communities in which they live. The First Responders Children’s Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund was established in March 2020 to provide financial hardship grants, PPE, and hotel accommodations to first responders on the front lines of the pandemic. The Foundation also pays for funerals of first responders who have made the ultimate sacrifice. More information about First Responders Children’s Foundation is available at www.1stRCF.org. Follow First Responders Children’s Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @1stRCF.