The Toy Drive That Will Brighten the Lives of Over 12,000 Children in Need

Keeping the Spirit of Giving alive at Kidzz Helping Kidzz! December was a whirlwind of joy, generosity, and a lot of moving boxes. Thanks to an outpouring of toy donations from all over Kitsap County, King, and Pierce Counties, we spent the month in our headquarters (aka, the world's most energetic toy-sorting facility) organizing toys for kids in need.

We held six work parties where volunteers labeled, sorted, and boxed each donation with care. Each toy was tagged with a Kidzz Helping Kidzz label, complete with our logo, contact details, and a QR code that lets recipients share their stories about the joy of receiving one of our toys.

It's a small touch that helps connect the dots between the people giving and the kids receiving—because every toy has a story.  

The Incredible Toy Collection Pickup Team

On December 18th, our dedicated volunteers set out to collect toy donations from all over Kitsap County. Each volunteer took on a designated route—no easy task, as these boxes can be hefty, and the traffic...let's just say the holiday season is always in full swing!

Meet the Superstars Behind the Wheel:

Team A: Port Orchard & Bremerton Route - Driven by Jen & Adam Wiren. This dynamic duo, veterans of our food drive earlier in the year, took on the task with a combination of careful planning, creativity, and sheer gusto. With a route that required precise timing, they made sure all the boxes were picked up without a hitch. 

Team B: Silverdale Route - Driven by Katie Walz. A U-Haul expert and local traffic guru, Katie braved the chaotic streets of Silverdale to collect more toy boxes than any other route—one location alone had 9 boxes! Despite the extra load, Katie finished her route first. Impressive, right?

Team C: North Kitsap Route - Driven by Dave Marquis. Dave, a seasoned U-Haul driver for Kidzz Helping Kidzz for the past 7 years, took on the longest route, covering Kingston, Bainbridge, and Poulsbo. Despite road construction on Bainbridge Island, Dave finished his route in record time—under 4 hours! Talk about perseverance.

Team D: Churches - Driven by Rhandel with help from Zach & Noah. This team picked up toy boxes from local churches after their services, managing to complete their route in under two hours. Zach even showed off his strength, carrying two boxes at once like a true toy delivery hero.

Partnering with the HOPE Worldwide Scouts

We were thrilled to team up with the HOPE worldwide Scouts once again this year. This incredible family-focused community involvement program engages children (and their parents) in giving back to the community, helping kids in need while instilling a lifelong commitment to service. Under the guidance of Scout Leaders Jen and Katie, the troop brought boundless energy and enthusiasm to our work parties, sorting and boxing toys with smiles all around. They even joined us for the toy delivery at local hospitals—because what could be better than delivering joy in person? We can't thank them enough for their amazing support.

A Big Thank You to Our Local Churches and Organizations

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the churches and organizations that made significant contributions this year:

• Peninsula Bible Fellowship

• St. Anthony of Egypt Episcopal Church

• Hillcrest Church

• Church of the Latter-Day Saints (Port Orchard, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island)

• Alive Church

• South Sound Church of Christ

• City Chapel of Bremerton

• Silverdale Lutheran Church

• Charleston Bible Fellowship

Your generosity is beyond appreciated!  

We also received a huge boost from the Office of the Washington State Auditor in Port Orchard, who organized a toy drive specifically for us. One of their staff members had a child in the hospital last Easter and received one of our toys—talk about a full-circle moment!

Special Visits and Record Toy Drive Donations

Dragan Karadzic, Director of Operations at Puget Sound Region USA Volleyball, made not one, but two trips to deliver a staggering 800 toys! Sixty of his volleyball teams played in tournaments, and his players brought toys to support Kidzz Helping Kidzz. Dragan and his teams brought not one, but two carloads of donations, filling our warehouse with even more holiday cheer.

Xi Gamma Lambda, a local chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, also came through for us with beautiful toy donations and an incredibly generous contribution. Kathy Watson, a member of the group, even mentioned they might join us at the warehouse next year to help sort and box—nothing like extra hands and hearts in action!

Sunny Theoharatos, a dedicated Arts Management Master's student at CSU, recently discovered Kidzz Helping Kidzz and decided to put her passion into action. Through a well-executed fundraiser on Instagram, she raised over $500 to support our toy drive—talk about turning social media influence into something truly impactful! Not only did Sunny rally support online, but she also generously contributed toys to our cause. We're incredibly grateful for her commitment to making the holidays brighter for kids in need.

The Grand Toy Sorting Party

Our biggest sorting party of the year took place on December 21st, just two days before delivery. With new donations rolling in every day, we had to be strategic in preparing toy boxes for the remaining four hospitals—Seattle Children's, Swedish Medical Center, St. Anthony, and St. Michael Medical Center. (We had already delivered to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital earlier due to an earlier cutoff.)

Volunteers from Academy of Dance in Port Orchard—who had raised money through a fundraiser and purchased toys—joined in with their usual enthusiasm. 

The Laborers' Local 252 Women's Committee showed up in force, bringing toy donations and helping us calculate whether we could fit everything into our 26-foot U-Haul (we at least thought we could based on the math!).

Loading and Packing: An "Organized Chaos" Adventure

When it came time to load the truck, we quickly realized that some boxes were bigger than anticipated, and that the specific toy requests from the hospitals made for a complicated packing situation. But with the help of Lemont DeShields, Shane Durhand, and their sailors from the Junior Enlisted Association (JEA), we managed to fill the truck and realized that we had about 70 boxes that we could not fit into the truck. During this time, we also kept receiving toy donations that required extra boxes!  It was a wonderful problem to have!

Indeed, there were a few hiccups—some boxes didn't fit, and a few extra toys meant a second trip was necessary—but the team worked quickly and efficiently. And let's be real, when you're doing something this important, a little “organized chaos” is to be expected.

Delivering the Toys: A Day of Gratitude

On the morning of December 23, we loaded up the U-Haul and headed out, spirits high. First stop: Seattle Children's Hospital, where we had to get creative with unloading (the U-Haul was too tall for the usual drop-off point, so we used the elevator!). We unloaded 5,000 toys in just under an hour.

Next up was Swedish Medical Center, where parking was a bit of an adventure, but we found a way to make it work (as one does when you're hauling toys!). After that, we headed to St. Anthony Hospital, where we were warmly greeted by President Dino Rizzo, who spoke movingly about the impact our toy drive has on the kids in the area.

Finally, we returned to the warehouse for one more round of packing boxes before heading to St. Michael Medical Center. There, we were greeted by Chad Melton, President of St. Michael, who honored our Advisory Board for their leadership. He noted how far we've come since our first toy drive in 2016—53,000 toys delivered to date!

Reflecting on Our Impact

Looking back, it's hard to believe we've brightened the lives of over 53,000 children since our humble beginnings. It's a testament to the power of community involvement—when people come together, anything is possible. We couldn't have done it without our incredible sponsors, volunteers, and donors. Thank you to each and every person who helped us deliver smiles, one toy at a time.  

Accumulation of Toys Throughout December

• December 16 - 7580 toys

• December 17 - 8154 toys

• December 18 - 10,363 toys

• December 19 - 10,919 toys

• December 20 - 11,670 toys

• December 21 - 11,982 toys

• December 22 - 12,012 toys!

Recognizing Our Heroes: The Volunteers

Kidzz Helping Kidzz has been incredibly lucky to have such amazing volunteers throughout the year. Their commitment and generosity have brought smiles to many children in need. A big thank you goes out to these special individuals who carved time out of their hectic schedules to give back:

Volunteer Uhaul Drivers:

• Jen and Adam Wiren

• Dave Marquis

• Katie Walz

• Rhandel Darner

Toy Pickup Volunteers:

• Pam & Larry Keller (Bremerton)

• Aaliyah Chandler and Amber Nash (Port Orchard)

• Debbie Slaton (Silverdale)

• Becky Lober and Cheryl Bradley (Poulsbo & Bainbridge Island)

• Clint Boxman (Kingston)

Toy Delivery Day Team of Drivers:

• Jeannette Forster

• Stephanie Devey

• Ashley Kirk

• Kristin Guy

• Kelly Eastman

• Adrienne Runyan

• Rhandel Darner

Advisory Board of Youth:

• Zachary D. (age 15)

• Paige D. (age 16)

• Makayla D. (age 18)

• Everette C. (age 16)

• Leighton H. (age 15)

• Logan H. (age 13)

• Arianna G. (age 16)

• Selah G. (age 13)

• Matthew M. (age 16)

• Jameson N. (age 16)

• Jack D. (age 12)

• Lucie C. (age 16)

• Hannah S. (age 16)

• Liana K. (age 16)

• Noah D. (age 9)

• Micah G. (age 9)

Since our humble beginnings in 2016, Kidzz Helping Kidzz has distributed 53,000 toys to children at St. Michael Medical Center, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, Seattle Children's Hospital and St. Anthony Hospital.

That's 53,000 lives we have brightened! Please consider supporting Kidzz Helping Kidzz by donating toys, donating time or donating money to our cause.

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