$48K Donated To Save Toys R Us Fundraiser

WAYNE, NJ — A last ditch campaign to raise $1 billion to keep Toys R Us from going out of business has raised $48,000 in four days.

The $48,000 is in addition to the initial $200 million contribution Isaac Larian, the CEO of MGA Entertainment, makers of Bratz Dolls and Little Tikes toys, put forth.

"Isaac hopes that those who want to see Toys R Us continue on will participate in the campaign in some way, by taking action or even just sharing words of support," the author of the page. "We have heard from Toys R Us employees that they are grateful for this effort to help save their jobs. He hopes folks will focus on the true goal of this movement. It's not about crowdfunding, it's about community action and saving jobs. Let's #SaveToysRUs."

Larian pledged to commit 10 percent of all proceeds from Little Tikes purchases made between now and the end of the campaign to help Toys R Us.

Larian is not the only one using the internet to give Toys R Us, and its employees, a future.

More than 7,200 people have signed a petition stating that the company's 31,000 employees deserve severance pay. (See Related: Toys R Us Workers Start Severance Pay Petition)

"This corporate greed is hurting me and my family. And it's unacceptable," said the petition's creator Mikey Fox. "We're losing our jobs and our livelihoods while these executives gave themselves huge payoffs."

Toys R Us announced March 15 it would "wind down" 0perations at 735 of its U.S. stores as part of a company liquidation. That process started six months after the Wayne New Jersey-based filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The bankruptcy filing came amid slumping sales and mounting debt, which grew to about $5 billion, although Toys R Us announced at the time that the "vast majority" of its 1,600 worldwide locations were profitable.

The once-dominant retailer struggled to compete with online retail giant Amazon and stores like Walmart, The New York Times reported, and amassed $5 billion in debt.

Toys R Us had a $400 million debt payment due this year and was "burning through cash," the Times reported, and hired law firm Kirkland & Ellis to devise a strategy moving forward.

Related: Toys R Us Closing Is The End Of An Era
Related: Toys R Us Will Sell Or Close NJ Stores, Company Confirms
Related: Charles Lazarus, Toys R Us Founder, Dies At 94
Related: Toys R Us Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Outlines Strategy

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Patch file photo by Daniel Hubbard