The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project

The HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE, brought to the community by The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™, IS BACK!

The biggest and best toy drive in NEPA is back in full swing. Like many years before, it is still necessary to collect monetary donations to augment the physical toys collected. There are always deficiencies in the toys collected, especially for the older children. The monetary donations are used to purchase what is needed for them. This is where we need your help! This is why we are using this campaign as another option for folks to donate to the initiative.

The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™ is hosting The HOLIDAY TOY Drive in 2024 to brighten the lives of community children in Wayne and Pike Counties! “It’s hard to believe, but 2024 marks the 8th consecutive year for The Holiday Toy Drive. As a community we have all rallied time and time again, coming together to pull off an amazing feat, bringing joy and smiles to hundreds and hundreds of kids that may otherwise not have that experience around the holidays”, said Jim Zumpone, Chief Visionary and Founder of The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™. He continued "We know we can do it because the good people of Wayne and Pike Counties have always stepped up. Always! Monetary donations are still needed though and would be greatly appreciated, especially this year! If you can, please donate early to aide in our planning to once again help spread joy throughout our community."

Here is The Story of how this all came to be…

It all began with two people sitting across from one another at a board room table, “We just have to do this,” she said, “Do what?” he said, “This, we need to help the community, who else is going to do it?” she said. The conversation continued via phone as he went home to discuss it with his family, his loving wife and two supportive children. They all agreed. He returned to the table the next day, and it was at that moment in 2017, just a few short weeks before the holidays, that they knew there was no turning back. With the help of so many people volunteering their time, website pages were built, forms were created for families to register their children, volunteers signed up, boxes were delivered via hundreds of miles of roads throughout the two-county region, sponsors were identified, events & fundraisers were held. A community came together without question, without hesitation, in support of a program meant to bring meaning to the lives of many families and put smiles on the faces of the children who would receive thousands of gifts.

Two hundred and fifty plus business locations hosting toy collection boxes, an ever-increasing sum of donations and gifts collected, and volunteers aged 6 to 86 sorting and arranging gifts by age category, all to help hundreds of children of families in need. It did not end there; donations of a building to house the event and tables provided by a local school district, shopping carts from a local grocery store, there to carry hand-selected items as families walked the aisles of thousands of gifts arranged by age from newborn to eighteen. One by one, each family selected age-appropriate gifts for their children. Donations of food for the many volunteers, who selflessly provided their time to give back to their community, fundraisers to stuff a truck, tractor and jeep, and billboard space were donated.

If that wasn’t enough, a local entrepreneur hosted the Santa Express Train, inviting volunteers to collect toys and donations on location each weekend. That partnership and tradition has only grown stronger with each year. It would also not have been possible without a local radio station & car dealership that annually support the event by hosting The Wayne County Ford & Bold Gold Media Holiday Toy Drive Challenge, and everyone involved, who, with the community’s support, always seem to fill more and more pickup trucks with toys.

Over 60 volunteers, $100,000+ in toys and donations, thousands of miles traveled, hundreds and hundreds of hours worked, and all to bring joy to deserving kids around the holidays. That is why they do what they do, and that is what it takes to do it. Whether participation was a single hour of time, a single dollar donated, or an entire pickup truck full of toys donated by one extraordinary family, the communities of Pike and Wayne Counties should be thankful they have such kind and generous people living among them.

What is happening now?

Fast forward to the present day. This 8th year, the program is back doing what it does best… the successful annual Toy Drive that began in 2017 is once again in full swing for 2024. Toys and gifts will be collected at hundreds of toy drop box locations and distributed at a two-day event, much like shopping at a store. There will be three phases to the program. Sign up period for the folks needing to apply, toy collection and monetary gifts donation collections, and then DISTRIBUTION of all the toys!

Although The HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE is their gift to the community, The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™ invites everyone to participate, to help make a difference in the lives of the community’s children! “We have again spent countless hours preparing to make this happen and really need this year to be the best ever.", said Jim Zumpone, Founder of The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™.

For the 2024 season, in addition to “The Wayne County Ford & Bold Gold Media Holiday Toy Drive Challenge,” individuals and businesses are encouraged to host their own events that will help generate toy and monetary donations to meet the goals during the toy collection and fundraising phase. All information regarding The HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE can be found on the program's landing page here .

About The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™

The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™ is a local 501c3 non-profit organization made up of a unique and diverse group of individuals who are motivated by the common belief that we can do better as a community through hands-on experiences and project-based learning. We are driven to bring a place called ZIPPER JUNCTION™ to life. Helping someone learn how to live a self-sustaining life by discovering and using their passion is the single most important thing, and this is to be supported and cultivated. Our mission is crafted around Leveraging Skills, Igniting Passions, and Building Futures. To read more about The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™, please visit The ZIPPER JUNCTION Project™ website here .