2020 has presented many people with unexpected challenges. Things will be tighter for many families this year. I think it would be nice to find a way to get some booster packs to some children (maybe to a family?). I thought I’d reach out and see if anyone had any ideas on finding a way to finding a recipient for something like this. Last year, I helped out in a local YWCA effort where donors purchased items off of a list. I could do something like that, but since that was an adopt a family type thing, there were already quite a few donations per family. I’m thinking something more along the lines of a family that otherwise might not have much. I’m currently reaching out to a few contacts, but any other ideas are most welcome.
I haven’t purchased cards in a really long time.
Would the new Vivid Voltage packs be the most exciting for a child (6-12 or so in age)?
Am I going to be able to track down packs at retail before the holidays?
Would I be able to buy a booster box or are sales often restricted to fewer packs (saw a few things limiting packs to pretty low numbers)?
Open to other variations of the booster pack idea as well. Ideally get the most bang for the buck. Thanks!
Your local church or synagogue may be having a Christmas / Hannukah event where they take in donations (physical gifts included) and make gift bags for children whose parents have difficulty affording presents.
If you want to get a bulk some of things, you could try to see what dollar stores have in bulk - there are some really nice hidden gems for Pokemon packs and they aren’t getting as widely targeted and cleaned out as some retail chains are.
Japanese cards would also be a great introduction as well to some families - I know my first introduction as a kid to a Japanese card was met with aw and I was instantly addicted to the higher quality printed sets.
Team Up & Storm Seige are still pretty affordable. The former has some incredibly wonderful art that appeals to a large audience, especially kids.
On top of @qwachansey’s ideas, you can call local shelters to see if they take holiday donations like that. Homeless families get hit the hardest during the winter and as much as they tend to focus on necessities, toys/cards for the kids can do a lot to increase morale for families experiencing really tough situations.
Unless the supply chain somehow pulls itself together in a major way, I doubt the TCG sections of major retailers will look much different than they do now between now and Christmas (read: virtually empty). Lots of kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds probably aren’t going to be getting Pokémon cards from their families, but toy drives will probably see even less, since their benefactors usually just buy shit from Target and Wal Mart.
On the flip side, this means that people who do have the time and financial means to buy product online (for now, this mostly means from scalpers) and donate it will be giving kids a highly desirable item they’re almost certainly not going to get anywhere else. This especially applies to Vivid Voltage and Champion’s Path.