Play it Forward holds annual toy drive in downtown Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — One of the largest toy drives in the country, Play it Forward, held its annual toy drive at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Saturday and helped nearly 2,000 families this holiday season.

The one-of-a-kind gently used toy drive collects hundreds of thousands of toys from Pittsburghers and gives them a new life with families in need every December. The goal is to recycle and reuse toys that still have life left in them, saving them from landfills and allowing neighbors to “Play it Forward.”

It’s a full circle moment for Rae Coleman who started volunteering at Play it Forward Pittsburgh’s gently used toy drive when her daughter was 2 years old.

“That first year, I was one of the parents that actually stood in the line and I was like, you know what, I think I want to volunteer,” she said. “So after that, I was volunteering every year.”

On Saturday, Coleman’s now 13-year-old daughter volunteered with her at the giveaway.

From board games to dinosaurs to stuffed animals and Lincoln logs, toys have been collected since October by over 50 different businesses, groups and community organizations around the region who have volunteered as Drop Off Locations for the organization.

“Our first drive was actually at a very small school cafeteria and we’ve grown over the years to filling this space here at the convention center,” said Heather Starr Fiedler, Play it Forward Co-Founder.

Starr Fiedler and a coworker started the organization in a basement as a way to give away toys that their children had outgrown.

“Christmas is expensive,” she said. “Even if you are just living paycheck to paycheck most people spend on average 500 per child at Christmas and that’s money people don’t have so for us to be able to help them out in some small way is just an incredible feeling.”

“I got this little soccer thing for my little 18-month-old,” said Christina Knupfer.

Families say they’re grateful for the opportunity to have something for their kids this holiday season.

“Just to be able to come here and have that relief at Christmas it’s really awesome,” said Jennifer Knupfer.

And for Coleman, she said it’s an event she’s proud to be a part of and a way for her to give back.

“Everybody has been so thankful,” she said. “Everybody has a good spirit. That’s what makes it worthwhile. I see a lot of smiles.”

Play it Forward also partnered with DT Care, which addresses crises and expands humanitarian operations across the globe to collect art supplies for their new school in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. They will be used in their art, play, and family therapy programs.

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