Providing new toys for pediatric patients
Kids who are going through cancer could use something to brighten their day and boost their spirits. With that in mind, Zach’s Toy Chest provides new toys for pediatric cancer patients in and around Raleigh, North Carolina.
zachstoychest.org
To ensure her website was communicating what she wanted it to say, Holly from Zach’s Toy Chest asked me to provide her with messaging consulting services. In particular, she wanted to make sure her website was clear, in hopes that doing so would solve some common problems she faced.
Chief among these problems was the fact that she kept receiving used toy donations, which hospitals don’t accept. Since hospitals only accept new toys, any used toys she received had to be discarded. This presented a significant drain on Holly’s time and energy, especially since she is the one who runs Zach’s Toy Chest.
We discovered that the website may be a major reason why she kept getting used toys, since it was not clear on the kinds of toys that Zach’s Toy Chest accepted. After meeting with me, I suggested that Holly reword Zach’s Toy Chest’s homepage, so people now see the word “new” before “toy.” This made it clear that only new toys would be accepted as donations.
As a result, Zach’s Toy Chest now receives approximately 80% less used toys than they had prior to working with me.
This allows Holly to have more time and energy to focus on raising donations, hosting events, and distributing new toys to kids with cancer.
From the client
“I thought I had a clear message. I was wrong. The amount of used toys we were getting proved that point very clearly. Thanks to Paul Watson for his time and talent, we are now working on a better way to tell our story and share the message of Zach’s Toy Chest. It is always so good to have someone taking a look and providing beneficial feedback.”
-Holly Schwab
