The Pavers Foundation has donated £500 to 3D Toy Shop, a small toy workshop based in Leeds. The Foundation donated the money on behalf of Caroline Ochnik, the Payroll and Employee Relations teams at the Pavers Head Office in York.
Nick Hardman set up 3D Toyshop in Leeds during the covid pandemic, it creates one-of-a-kind teddies for disabled and sick children around the world complete with miniature medical equipment from feeding tubes, tracheostomies, dialysis machines and hearing aids.
The special parts are 3D printed to match those used by the receiver which helps the child understand their condition and treatment, and by having a toy that looks like them helps to normalises their condition. All the toy parts are made in Nick’s home with a small group of volunteers to help process orders.
The donation from the Pavers Foundation will allow 5 play therapy packs to be sent to children’s play therapists in the UK free of charge. These packs contain 2 fully sterilisable dolls and 50 custom designed toy medical devices and machines, enabling the therapists to help children engage with and learn about their medical procedure and equipment in a way that is less scary for them. Nick, founder of 3D Toy Shop said, “Thank you so much to the Pavers Foundation, these packs will help hundreds of children per year with understanding their medical conditions.”
Caroline, from Pavers Head Office, who made the application for the donation said “3D Toy Shop are a small non-profit with a very big impact! A donation here would be used very wisely and have a lasting impression.”