Spin Master co-founder’s Toy Movement brings toys to children in need

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The donor: Ronnen Harary

The gift: Creating the Toy Movement

The reason: To bring toys to children in impoverished countries

A few years ago, Ronnen Harary was on a trip to Zambia when he stopped to visit a family living in a one-room hut. On a shelf, he noticed a tattered Barbie doll that had been worn down by years of constant play.

The importance the family attached to that simple toy stuck with Mr. Harary, co-founder and co-chief executive of Toronto-based toy maker Spin Master Corp. On his return to Toronto, he launched the Toy Movement, a charity that provides free toys to needy children around the world.

Since 2014, the Toy Movement has donated roughly 350,000 toys, ranging from Etch A Sketch to Hatchimals CollEGGtibles, Ty Beanie Boos and wooden chess sets, to children in half a dozen countries, including a refugee camp in northern Iraq. This year, with the help of Save the Children, numerous volunteers and several other companies, the Toy Movement plans to donate 500,000 toys around the world, including to Rohingya Muslim refugees who have fled Myanmar. In addition to donating toys, the charity often hires locals to wrap the gifts.

“It’s even more important for kids in refugee camps to get toys,” said Mr. Harary, who frequently accompanies deliveries. “Toys are all about play, and so the kids get the ability to go out and play.”