PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 450 sites where you can drop off donations for the KGW Great Toy Drive this holiday season. Toyota is one of those collection site partners and they are driving donations though their employees.
“It's a wonderful opportunity to give back to children at any time of the year. It's especially special at the holidays,” Toyota of Portland Sales Associate Kelly Donnelly said.
Toyota is ringing in the holidays by doing their part for the KGW Great Toy Drive. There are 13 local Toyota dealerships in Oregon and Washington where you can drop off your toys.
“You don't want any child to feel left behind, first of all. Every child should feel appreciated and special so that they know that they can get somewhere in life,” Donnelly said.
In a job that's all often all about sales, it's nice to shift focus occasionally.
“This is something that doesn't have anything to do with any of that it's just all about love and kids,” General Manager Josh Kampmann said.
At the dealership off Broadway in Portland employees are really sharing the spirit of the holidays. Monday night at their holiday party they had a different kind of secret Santa. They brought in gifts to donate to kids in need.
Samantha Verkler works in the rental department with Tim Stoddard. They tell KGW they're proud their employer gives them opportunities to give back to their community.
“Not everyone gets to experience what we do, and some people have harder difficult situations,” Stoddard said. “Definitely think about that and how you could affect their lives.”
Verkler brought some toddler staples, like the classic See n’ Say because she knows how much joy they brought her own children.
“I have kids and my kids are grown. So, it's actually kind of nice to have an opportunity to buy gifts like this again. They've had these gifts before and it's just fun,” Verkler said.
Stoddard bought a silly game called Chow Crown, hoping it would give a child lasting memories for years to come.
“This time of year should have something fun that they can play with and something that they can make experiences with,” he said.
Whether it's toys from their childhood or something their own kids loved growing up, these workers hope their donations will encourage others to give.
“We're just so grateful that we have an opportunity to be a part of it and we really hope that everybody else out there can get inspired to do the same,” Donnelly said.
The KGW Great Toy Drive spreads the donated toys out to nearly 130 local nonprofits. That means these toys can reach thousands of kids.