Ithaca Toys offers job training to challenged communities.
Whether it be people with a history of incarceration or people with disabilities, Ithaca Toys aims to create job opportunities for all individuals.
To accomplish this, we have been fortunate to work with Challenge Workforce Solutions and subcontract a talented, hard working team of individuals. Challenge is a non-profit committed to creating pathways to employment for people with disabilities and barriers to work. With their help, we have been able to produce hundreds of CoasterBLOX, NumberBLOX, and BLOX.
2022
Recently, we onboarded Mike as our first permanent production employee and are working closely with Challenge to ensure that we provide the tools necessary for success. With Challenge acting as an employment specialist, we look forward to continuing production with Mike’s help and positively impacting our community through workforce development.
2023
Mike is now our production supervisor and he is in charge of taking down and assisting in training our new craftsman! Additionally, we happily expanded our team with Eddie! He is an incredible help with our quality control check process!
Ithaca Toys cares for our planet.
In addition to locally-sourcing wood for our products, Ithaca Toys engages in circular economy practices for the purpose of reducing our waste.
Our production process creates two primary forms of waste: wood scraps and sawdust. We have developed a method to repurpose our wood scraps to create birdhouses to donate to our local community. Moreover, we have given away any excess wood as kindling to local state parks.
Shaving off wood to get the smooth edges and engraved images necessary for our products generates large amounts of sawdust. To put that waste to use, we have used the sawdust to insulate our birdhouses, create more composting material, and donate to our friends at Laughing Goat Fiber Farm.
Not to mention, Ithaca Toys products are sturdy and durable, made of quality material meant to withstand years and years full of play and learning. A single purchase at Ithaca Toys can bring fun to your family or students for generations!