Kidzz Helping Kidzz Toy Drive 2024: Donate Toys & Volunteer in Kitsap!

We are thrilled to have such an incredible group of young leaders on our Kidzz Helping Kidzz Advisory Board!

These kids are absolutely unstoppable when it comes to making a difference in the lives of those in need. Their dedication to civic leadership is truly inspiring.

Rising Star Spotlight: Meet Jack!

Each month, we highlight one outstanding individual as our "Rising Star," and for December, we are excited to recognize Jack!

Jack, a 12-year-old dynamo from Catalyst Schools in Bremerton, joined our Advisory Board this past spring during our food drive. From the get-go, Jack was ready to roll up his sleeves and jump in wherever help was needed. At one point, he earned the title of Official Mathematician as he painstakingly calculated the weight of all our food donations—no small feat!

This fall, Jack has continued to be a rock star volunteer. He's always eager to pitch in, whether it's building toy collection boxes, labeling and sorting toys for our toy drive, or taking on any task that comes his way. When he's not busy making a difference with Kidzz Helping Kidzz, Jack can be found diving into history and family genealogy, spending time with his family, or getting lost in video games like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

Jack is also an avid animal lover and enjoys hanging out with his two cats, Penny and Pablo—who are clearly the real VIPs in his life.

Jack, thank you for your dedication and hard work in helping kids in need. We are lucky to have you on the team! Keep being awesome!

Kidzz Helping Kidzz Toy Drive Kickoff: Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes!

Our 2024 Kidzz Helping Kidzz Toy Drive is off to a fantastic start! The youth on our advisory board have been hard at work, meeting multiple times to create our beautifully wrapped toy collection boxes.

They not only wrapped the boxes but also added our toy drive poster and secured the signs with staple-gun precision. We created 120 collection boxes, which, based on last year's needs, seemed like more than enough. We were feeling confident—until we realized, at the last possible moment, that we needed 11 more boxes! Cue the frantic scramble to build the extra boxes, just in time to get them loaded onto the U-Haul trucks!

Volunteer Superstars: Delivering Smiles Across Kitsap County!

Thankfully, we had an incredible group of volunteers helping us distribute the 131 boxes to their new homes. Each volunteer took charge of a specific route, ensuring that our toy drive would be a success. Dave Marquis, a seasoned pro with six years of experience, drove the North Kitsap route with his signature ease. We can't thank Dave enough for his continued dedication! Katie Walz, a Silverdale local, took on the Silverdale route, which had the highest box count but considerably fewer miles. Katie, a returning volunteer from last year, had the traffic navigation skills and local knowledge needed to handle Silverdale busy streets like a champ.

Jen and Adam Wiren, experienced U-Haul drivers from our food drive earlier this year, took care of the Bremerton and South Kitsap route. In fact, it was Jen's persistent door-knocking that helped us secure such a high number of toy collection box requests this year! Rhandel and Beth Darner led the charge with our school and church routes. Rhandel, a school bus driver, knew exactly how to distribute the toy collection boxes while avoiding bus lanes and crosswalks. (Well, except for one time, when he had to park illegally while Beth dashed into Bremerton High School with boxes in tow!)

Community Support: Spreading Holiday Cheer!

A huge thank you to the local businesses, coffee shops, medical offices, restaurants, churches, and schools that are supporting our toy drive this year. If you're curious about where you can drop off your toy donations, check out our official list of public drop-off locations on our website's Contribute page here.

Toy Sorting Extravaganza: A Warehouse of Wonders!

Thanks to toy donations we received throughout the year, we were already in full swing when it came time to label and box the toys. Our Kidzz Helping Kidzz advisory board met at our warehouse space, generously provided by St. Michael Medical Center, to count, sort, label, and pack the toys. Here's our advisory board hard at work—it's a lot of toys, but we got it done!

Thanks to St. Michael Medical Center, we were able to get the work done more efficiently—and it also gave us a place to store the 2,320 toys we boxed up! Each toy is labeled with our Kidzz Helping Kidzz logo, so the kids receiving them will know they're supported by our amazing youth-led nonprofit.

Delivery Dash: Spreading Joy to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital!

Our first delivery of the season went perfectly, heading to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. They have an early cutoff date for toy donations, so we always prioritize them.

The drop-off was speedy (and slightly chaotic), as their location is under construction, and we had to park on the side of the road—but we made it happen!

Overflowing with Gratitude: The Kitsap Community Shines!

It's just the second week of December, and we're already feeling the holiday spirit—thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the Kitsap community! We've been blessed with thousands of toy donations so far, and we're excited to report that, including the toys we've already delivered to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, we've received a whopping 4,859 toys to date! We are beyond grateful for your support as we continue our important work.

More Deliveries to Come: Spreading Cheer Throughout the Region!

But wait—there's more! We'll be delivering the remaining toys to St. Michael Medical Center, St. Anthony Hospital, Seattle Children's Hospital, and Swedish Medical Center on Monday, December 23rd. This is always one of the highlights of our year, and we can't wait to see how these donations will light up the faces of the children who receive them.

Winter Skate & Share: A Festive Fundraiser!

A huge shout-out to the Bremerton Figure Skating Club for hosting their Winter Skate & Share fundraiser for Kidzz Helping Kidzz. The event was a total blast!

And you didn't even need to know how to ice skate to have fun—there was hot cocoa, a movie on ice, and, of course, a steady stream of toy donations from ice skaters and spectators alike. Thank you for making this event so memorable and for helping us make the holidays a little brighter for kids in need!

The Spirit of Giving: More Than Just Toys!

There's a special kind of energy that surrounds our toy drive every year. Whether it's a donor, volunteer, or someone in our community just taking time out of their busy day to help, we're constantly reminded of the incredible kindness and generosity in the world. Our toy drive is more than just about giving toys—it's about creating a sense of community, coming together to spread joy. And we're already feeling that buzz of excitement this year, thanks to all of you!

Join the Fun: Volunteer with Kidzz Helping Kidzz!

Volunteer Alert: If you have a kid (or are one yourself) who wants to pitch in and help us count, sort, label, or box toys, please contact us here!

We're also on the lookout for a volunteer photographer and videographer who can donate their time to capture the fun and the magic of this season. Your support means the world to us, and we hope to see you soon!

Thank you for being a part of the Kidzz Helping Kidzz Toy Drive! Please leave your comment below...