Princeton brothers seek toy donations for curbside pickup to give to other kids

Ryan and Kyle Grzymala want to bring joy to other kids during the pandemic while also helping the environment.

The two brothers, ages 13 and 17, founded R+K Toys in 2013, starting their project at the Riverside Elementary School in Princeton and expanding it to other elementary schools. They collected toys, cleaned them up, and redistributed them to teachers for use in their classrooms, for indoor recess, and to be distributed by teachers to students who would enjoy the toys at home. New boxed toys have given to HomeFront every holiday season, and after several years, the brothers partnered with organizations like the Princeton Public Library and Sustainable Princeton to collect toys at events.

Over the past eight years, the brothers have collected thousands of gently used toys and games from area kids and families to pass on to other children. Ryan, now a senior at Princeton High School, and Kyle, an eighth grader at the Princeton Unified Middle School, want to keep their momentum going in spite of the current challenges of the pandemic, and are currently curbside pickups of toy donations in the Princeton area.

“We ask all kids that if you have gently used toys that you may not need or want to please donate,” Ryan said. “Kyle and I are working with an organization that we want to recycle 200 toys each month for, and we need your help. What could be better than for your loved toys to go to another kid to play with? Help make another kid happy and help preserve the environment too.”

Donations of toys, games, and puzzles will be accepted until Nov. 30. R+K Toys does not accept video games, stuffed animals, or fabric items such as dolls.

You can sign up to donate toys on the R+K Toy Project Facebook page or email rktoyproject@gmail.com, and the brothers will arrange a time and date to pick up your donations.