Seasonal initiative: Job centre distributes approximately 500 gifts to children during Christmas
In the heart of the holiday season, the Solingen job center, Technical Operations (TBS), and the Wuppertal "Toys Company" collaborated for the third time to bring joy to children during the Advent season. This year's toy drive, while not explicitly named the "Solingen 2021 Toy Drive," aimed to distribute approximately 500 well-preserved toys to children aged between two and ten years old.
Throughout the year, the TBS collected toys, which were then cleaned, sorted, and repaired by employees of the Wuppertal "Toys Company." The refurbished toys were then distributed during the gift action at the Solingen municipal job center in the second week of December. City service manager Mike Häusgen praised the commitment of the cooperation partners for the event.
Julia Heitmann, who accompanied the action, noted that the donated toys would have been too good to throw away. Employees at the job center encouraged their children to donate toys to make other children happy. The container for toy donations was accessible at the Bärenloch disposal center on Cronenberger Straße 177 during the opening hours of the EBZ (Monday to Friday 7:30 to 15:45 and Saturday 7:30 to 12:15).
Despite the success of this year's toy drive, the Vohwinkel branch of the Wuppertal "Toys Company" will close by the end of the year due to a reduction in funding. Project leader Sascha von Schwedler, who experienced a "wonderful atmosphere" during the toy distribution but also felt mixed feelings due to the closure, plans to work on a future-proof new business structure for the Wuppertal "Toys Company" in 2025. Sascha hopes that this new structure will benefit the Solingen job center customers in 2026.
The Wuppertal "Toys Company" will continue to operate at their Barmen location with a quarter of the current staff in 2025, refurbishing and delivering toy donations to the job center. Around 1700 households were notified about the toy offer by the Solingen job center.
As we look towards the future, the partnership between the Solingen job center, TBS, and the Wuppertal "Toys Company" continues to bring joy and happiness to children in need during the holiday season. For those interested in learning more about this collaboration or future toy drives, it is recommended to consult the official municipal websites of Solingen or Wuppertal, or contact the Solingen job center or Technical Operations directly for official statements or reports about their community activities.
- With the collaboration of the Wuppertal "Toys Company", the Solingen job center, and Technical Operations, the home-and-garden waste disposal center at Cronenberger Straße 177 becomes a collection point for donated toys.
- In an effort to provide joy to children during the holiday season, the Solingen job center and its partners, including the Wuppertal "Toys Company", work together to enhance the lifestyle of families by distributing refurbished toys.
