Holiday Gift Drives

In addition to K.I.D.S.' regular holiday distributions, thanks to the support of local community and company toy drives, in 2011, K.I.D.S. collected over 110 boxes of assorted, high-quality toys and clothing for children in need throughout the United States.
Over 25 companies participated in this year's holiday gift drive. More companies than year's past.
Although many of these donations were not valued, we estimate that this year we collected well over $20,000 worth of toys and clothing for the holiday season via our local holiday gift drives.

Company Highlights:

For the first time ever, T.J.Maxx's District 1109 launched an employee holiday gift drive for K.I.D.S. This district includes 12 stores located in the upstate region of NY, and several located in Vermont. Over 600 T.J. Maxx associates participated and donated nearly 20 boxes of new toys, books, clothing, and toiletries for the holiday season. Their donations directly benefitted victims of Hurricane Irene as well as foster children.

For the second year in a row, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP participated in K.I.D.S.' holiday gift drive, collecting over 14 boxes (400 items total), of toys, electronics, books, and clothing for children in need. In addition, they donated $600 in gift cards and $2,020 to support our local programs.

Footlocker has been participating in K.I.D.S.' annual gift drives since 2007. Every year, they donate over 15 boxes (valued at $7,500) of high quality toys for children during the holiday season.

In addition to collecting toys, K.I.D.S. is able to connect our holiday gift drive participants with our local partner agencies. On December 4th, Road 2 Riches Dyamondz Inc. SC along with other social clubs and the MC club hosted a holiday party, culminating their K.I.D.S. Holiday Gift Drive collection. On December 17th, they attended one of our partner's holiday parties. At Full Gospel Assembly's holiday party, they witnessed, first hand, the impact of their donation. Children were ecstatic; they did not expect the extent and the quality of gifts received.

Last, often times, holiday gift drives help K.I.D.S. go above and beyond to provide for our current local programs. La Familia Unida's donation of seven boxes of toys and clothing (valued at $1,115) helped us provide merchandise for our partner, the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry (CCRM), located in Dunkirk, NY. Thanks to a grant from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, K.I.D.S. has been able to provide CCRM with well over $100,000 worth of merchandise, in just a few months.