TOLEDO, Ohio — Thursday is WTOL 11's Gift of Joy Toy Drive, where all the toys from babies up to teenagers in the care of Lucas County Children Services will get gifts donated during the event.
One of the biggest donors for the drive is a group of city of Toledo employees who practically plan all year for this one event. WTOL 11 followed them on the shopping trip before the big day.
Paul Cooper and Michael Kimble have been collecting toys, and donations for toys, for nearly 10 years. The pair said this Christmas they have $3,000 to purchase as many toys as they can. On their shopping excursion, Kimble brought his eight-year-old grandson, Aiden Garrett, to Ollie's Bargain Outlet to help them shop.
Aiden knows none of the toys are for him, and he's good with that.
"It makes other people happy and makes you feel good," he said.
Cooper said he loves to do this because even those who didn't know what they were doing want to give themselves when they learn about it. He described how he met a woman last year during their shopping trip who thanked them for their generosity. She explained how she had been in the child welfare system years ago and knew exactly how important this shopping trip was.
"The more we can get, the more we can help kids," Cooper said.
It's all about making the holiday season special.
"These children, they don't have anything," Kimble said. "The worst thing that I know of is (to) wake up on Christmas Day with nothing."
Kimble said he had woken up to no toys under the tree at Christmas when he was younger, so he understands the importance of their work.
There are nearly 1,000 kids in the care of LCCS, the agency said. So, it's shop till you drop for kids they'll likely never meet and probably won't hear a thank you from.
"We've never done this for pats on the back because that's not what it's about," Cooper said. "To me, it doesn't matter if I know them or not. As long as I know that I'm making a child laugh and have fun and enjoy the holidays, that's what matters."
