Holiday challenge for charities
Ongoing bottlenecks in the supply chain mean shortages of gifts for children in need
With just over three weeks to go until Christmas, Kristyn Begari has been rushing to find enough doll styling heads to give to kids in need.
But, the purchasing coordinator for the California-based nonprofit Family Giving Tree says it’s been difficult to find them, or racially diverse Barbies or Disney princess dolls. Others charities who give to kids during the holidays say they’re also facing challenges finding enough gaming consoles, laptops and other electronic items amid the global shortage of chips used in cars, phones and other devices.
“I’ve never seen something like this,” Begari said. “Our biggest fear is we’re not going to get the quality of gifts that we want, or we’re not going to have enough.”
Attempting to grant thousands of holiday wish requests has always been challenging for Begari. But it’s been downright miserable this year as the global supply chain bottlenecks create shortages on many items, making it difficult to grant many holiday wishes for the 34,000 children and adults the organization expects to aid in the Bay Area this holiday season.
Some wholesale vendors have already informed her that purchases will not arrive — giving her the option of getting a refund, or buying another item. If a child doesn’t get their preferred gift, she said the organization will attempt to grant their “second wish,” or find another replacement item.
Similar worries are being felt across the country as supply chain snafus — produced by clogged U.S. ports, a lack of workers to move the cargo and skyrocketing shipping costs — lead to empty store shelves and higher prices on some products.
The supply chain slowdown is one of the main reasons why donations of new toys to The Toy Foundation have declined by nearly 80% in dollar value this year compared to 2019, according to Pamela Mastrota, the executive director of the group, which was formed by a toy industry trade association to act as an industry-wide charitable collective for manufacturers.
The lack of trade shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic also put a wrench in their collection efforts for the second year in a row.
Last month, President Joe Biden announced plans to establish around-the-clock operation at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest. Port officials have said some of the bottleneck has since eased, but experts note it will take a long time before things get back to normal.
Toys for Tots, the nation’s most well known toy donation drive run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, is not expecting shortages, said David Cooper, the organization’s vice president of operations. He said the organization purchased about $16.5 million worth of toys this spring to mitigate any impact supply chain issues might have on donations.
There are concerns more families might register to receive toys from them this year due to higher costs. However, a Toys for Tots spokesperson says early indicators for their holiday collection efforts point in a positive direction.
Some of their donations in the past have gone towards The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which also collects gifts for children and families in need during the holidays. The organization estimates about 5 million gifts are donated each year though the program. Though this year, Kenneth Hodder, Salvation Army’s commissioner, says there are concerns many kids might not receive their gifts on time.