Anki is offering a £50 discount for its bestselling robot toy Cozmo to anyone who donates toys to their local Barnado's shop this weekend.
Research from the consumer robotics and AI tech company revealed that the average family has over £100-worth of unused toys collecting dust at home, according to Anki's study of 1000 families.
This amounts to an estimated £411 million-worth of discarded toys across the UK as a whole, a problem which Anki hopes to alleviate with its toy amnesty in partnership with the children's charity.
A toy amnesty at this this time of year could prove extremely beneficial to the children Barnado's helps, as its Chief Executive Javed Khan explained: "“In every community there are children who don’t have toys to play with, but at the same time thousands of pounds worth of toys sit unused in homes across the UK."
“We hope that families will donate their unused toys to Barnardo’s this Christmas, knowing children will benefit from their kindness. Profits from donated items will go to our front line, helping us continue to support some of the most vulnerable children and families”.
How can I take part?
If you want to get rid of your kids' discarded toys, while saving money on what is possibly the cutest robot toy on the market, the Anki Cozmo, you simply need to tweet a photo of yourself or your child donating a bag of toys to your local Barnardo’s shop.
You'll need to direct your tweet to @anki and @barnardosretail with the hashtag #CozmoxBarnardos to receive a unique £50 discount code to buy a Cozmo through the Anki website.
If you want it to arrive in time for December 25, you will need to redeem your code before 10:30am on December 19. Full terms and conditions are explained on the Anki website, so make sure you give them a read before you head out with your bag of old toys.
Released in 2016, Cozmo is a small gizmo that does a number of things. As well a robot toy it’s also a device that will help those who use it to learn how to code, which means it could provide your child with some important life skills as well as a little companionship.
A spokesperson for Anki said of the partnership: “We’re really pleased to be able to support Barnardo’s at this important time of year. We’d also like to thank the children who donated their unwanted toys and hope that families feel Cozmo - with all his games, fun coding platform and regular updates - is a worthy replacement for their donations.”
So, if you want to spread a little Christmas cheer, get rid of some clutter, and bag a neat £50 discount on the Anki Cozmo, head down to your local Barnado's store with a big bag of old toys this weekend.
- Read our full Anki Cozmo review
