Hillcrest Heights, Maryland – (Tuesday, December 12, 2023) – In what seemed like Santa’s warehouse in the making, WHUR listeners gave “Jolly Old Saint Nick” a helping hand Saturday to make the Christmas wish list for hundreds of needy youth across the DMV come true. It was all part of the 21st Annual WHUR Children’s Toy Drive at the Shops at Iverson, powered by FedEx and Macy’s Downtown Metro Center.
WHUR’s Coka Lani took her popular Saturday show on the road encouraging listeners to drop off new unwrapped toys or gifts at the Shops of Iverson. They responded in a big way!!! More than 4,000 items were donated by dozens of listeners and groups. Everything from basketballs, dolls, bicycles, board games, sleds, scooters, remote control cars, gift cards, video games and even a life sized teddy bear; helped to turn the center court of the Mall into Santa’s Toyland. “It was literally a sea of toys and gifts like a Christmas wonderland. Those presents will go a long way to make holiday wishes of needy youth come true this year,” said WHUR General Manger Sean Plater.
WHUR got plenty of help to make the Toy Drive a victory with many groups working ahead of Saturday to get the job done. The Fort Washington Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Top Flight Corvette Club, Phaze 2 Corvette, Club Bill Lawrence Salon in NW, DC, Forestville Rehabilitation Center, and the John Hanson Montessori School in Oxon Hill all did their own in-house collections and dropped off their donations just in time for the WHUR event.
The success of the Toy Drive was made possible by the generous sponsorship of FedEx who donationed $2,000 to help purchase gifts and Macy’s Downtown Metro Center who provided $5,000 in $25 gift cards.
The toys and gift cards were distributed equally between non-profit organizations that service children and families across the DMV. The organizations were on site at the Mall to take the gifts Saturday. They are: SE Tennis and Learning Center, Mission of Love Charities, Stella Girls, Inc., Beyond the Classroom, Prince George’s County Family Justice Center, and Action In the Community Through Service. “We are so thankful to WHUR, FedEx, Macy’s, and the many WHUR listeners for this overwhelming display of caring and giving.” As a non-profit, we don’t always know how we are going to meet the needs of our children each year, I can tell you this year; we are going to have lots of smiling face,” said Lisa Ambers – Founder and CEO of Beyond the Classroom.
“Our goal this year was to really try to crisscross the DMV and spread some holiday cheer. With the help of our listeners, sponsors, and the many groups, we were able to do just that. We hope this holiday season will be a little bit brighter for our youth in need,” added Plater.
