The Tonka Truck Toy Drive 2017

For those that are new to the event I will quickly explain our purpose. Each year at Christmas I reach out to gather toys and donations for the children being treated at the Vidant Children’s Hospital. The kids here range in age from newborns to 18 years old and suffer from a multitude of different issues. The gifts that we give are stored in the Hospital’s “Santa’s Workshop” and on Christmas Eve the nurses, therapist and parents of the patients gather gifts for the children and set them up in their rooms. In the event there are leftover toys, which there often are, they are handed out to the children throughout the year on birthdays, before a treatment they are worried about or when they’re just having a bad day. With everyone’s support we are also able to extend these gifts to the siblings of the children being seen. Often times these brothers and sisters stay at their siblings bedside throughout the holidays. Between time focused on the sick child and the stress of medical bills adding up Christmas is an afterthought, which is why you are so important. These kids deserve to have the magic of Christmas visit them wherever they are.