We're back! Ringwood toy scheme returns to premises it was booted out of (From Bournemouth Echo)

We're back! Ringwood toy scheme returns to premises it was booted out of

4:00pm Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News By Paula Roberts

A TOY exchange and donation scheme in Ringwood has made an unexpected return – to the premises it was booted out of two months ago.

Teds offered customers a one-stop-shop selling baby and children’s toys and equipment to raise funds for Julia’s house and other local charities and organisations.

The social enterprise was founded by Ringwood mums Dana Elsworth and Liz Wells and they had been renting the dilapidated Old Auction House on Southampton Road.

But they were given their marching orders at the beginning of October and had to leave in November – packing all their mammoth stock collection away.

Dana said: “After moving all 14,000 items into storage we noticed that the building was still empty. We made contact with the owners and were told their plans had changed for the building and we could move back in on another six months lease.

“We are really pleased to be back and this time we are bigger and better than ever.”

Dana said Teds is also expanding by offering craft, beauty, counselling sessions to local mums in their meeting room.

In November the company was granted planning permission to set up their shop and community centre in a unit on Carvers industrial estate in Ringwood but it came with a number of restrictions which, Dana says, would make trading difficult.

Last year Teds gave toy donations to Poole Hospital, St Ives First School, Bethlehem Blind School and children’s centres in Latvia and Uganda.

Anyone interested in using the meeting room or offering their services or products should call Dana on 07795 109559 or by visiting toys4charity.org