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Toy recalls this year have put area charities on the defense as they collect donations this holiday season.

Volunteers and staff members are maintaining lists of recalled toys checking them to make sure no lead-tainted toys reach children.

For the past few weeks, Victoria Harrington, community relations manager at Youth In Need, has sorted through various toys that will be given to more than 1,000 children this year.

Polly Pocket, Dora the Explorer, and Go Diego dolls have all gotten a second look but, so far most of the toys Harrington has collected have been cleared.

In 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than 60 toys, many of which were made in China, due to excessive lead levels.

Lead can be found both in the paint used on imported toys and in plastic toys, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, imported toys could be among the exposure sources for 30 percent of children who have lead poisoning in the U.S. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavior problems, seizures, and death.

Unfortunately, not every agency has been able to screen donations.

The gifts given to families through Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service come in already wrapped, Executive Director Miriam Mahan said. The staff doesn't have the time or the resources to check every donation and then rewrap them.

Instead, each family will receive a letter with information about toy recalls. Mahan said she is also relying on the people who are donating the gifts to be aware of the recalls.

Resale shops have to contend with donations of older toys, some of which could contain high levels of lead. That has prompted Maxine Clarkson, manager of the St. Vincent De Paul store in St. Charles, to stop accepting toy donations.

At MERS Goodwill Branch Manager Ryan Meyer has posted signs showing the toys that have been recalled. Meyers said the staff members do their best to check all of the donations they receive, but they have asked customers to also be on the lookout.

Reference:

"Toy recalls test charity drives," St. Peters Journal, Kalen Ponche, December 2007.