Dino-themed YouTube channel Toy Pals TV launched a new initiative to benefit children’s charities through Scrappy Dino.
Scrappy Dino — the dinosaur apparel brand for fans of Toy Pals TV — is holding a monthly Scrap-a-Thon art contest, allowing kids to create and submit their own dinosaur art, with the chance of having it featured on a t-shirt if they win. Scrappy Dino commits 50% of the proceeds from all t-shirts as donations to two partner organizations: Alex’s Lemonade Stand and Autism Speaks.
Scrappy Dino was created by Toy Pals TV founder Rich Hardman, his friend and business partner Jason Harmon, his marketing specialist and brother-in-law Steven Dollar, and his designer and artist wife Ashley Alford.
“We wanted to create a concept that our fans could be a part of at home. Just like they are with Toy Pals TV and the tons of fan art mail we receive,” said Hardman. “This is a great way for us to engage with our fans, inspire creativity and help kids all at the same time. And we love seeing what our fans’ imaginations will create.”
Using his platform as a YouTuber for the past seven years, Hardman has also been an anti-bullying advocate. Wanting to do more with this platform, he and his co-founders established Scrappy Dino with the purpose of supporting charities for children. With autism being prevalent throughout all of the founders’ families, they chose raise funds for Autism Speaks, along with Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charity focused on children battling cancer.
Available in sizes for toddler, kids, and adult fans, the shirts are designed by Alford and take inspiration from origami, textures, scraps of paper, and bright colors.
“The concept for Scrappy Dino came to me while I was rocking my daughter to sleep one night. I started thinking about some of my favorite childhood memories. My mom would save a bag full of all different scraps of paper and fun recycled materials that I would use to be creative,” Alford said. “I would be occupied for hours and I loved it. Being a huge fan of The Land Before Time, dinosaurs were one of the most popular themes I created, and my love for dinosaurs has only grown as I’ve grown up.”