Some of you may recall the Motor4Toys automotive toy drive we told you about a couple of weeks ago. Dustin Troyan and the Motor4Toys Foundation put out a call to all of the car clubs and enthusiasts in Southern California to collect toys and money for the needy. And the response was overwhelming. Now in its 3rd year, the event continues to grow and this year exceeded its goal. More than 10,000 toys have been donated so far! This very special event collects toys for the California Highway Patrol Chips For Kids Program. There are many needed causes this time of year and several notable fundraiser events, but this one is special.
Big clickable gallery after the jump.
The Motor4Toys event is unique for several reasons. First of all, it is 100% charity. Nobody makes a dime. Secondly, every aspect of this drive is handled within the car community. Southern California car people donate everything from the fundraiser t-shirts, to the fliers, and even the webpage. They also provide the volunteers that keep everything running smoothly. And last, but certainly not least, is the fact that the toy donation event is actually one of the largest free car shows in the world. Several hundred exotics, muscle cars, classics, tuners and racecars show up for the drive. Walking through the Countrywide Insurance lot, you pass entire rows representing car clubs from all over SoCal: WRXes, Vipers, Vettes, Ferraris, Lotuses, VeeDubs, Porsches, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Audis, Mustangs, T-Birds, Shoebox Chevys, you name it, you'll find it here.
Great turnout for a worthwhile cause. Besides the thousands of toys collected at the show, the foundation also raised $7,000 in cash, which Big 5 Sporting Goods was happy to convert into sporting goods and even more toys at a very generous discount. That meant an additional 45 boxes with toys were headed to the West Valley Highway Patrol Office. For those still interested in helping, they still have event T-shirts for sale at www.motor4toys.com. Again, all proceeds will go to buy more toys. The shirts are only $15.00, so please consider helping with a purchase.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sheniferous @ Dec 19th 2006 7:13PM
Good job! scionlife.com has been organizing a friendly toy drive competition across all auto forums for the past 4 years as well. check it out here:
http://www.xmastoydrive.org/
Car videos & Motorcycle videos @ Dec 19th 2006 7:50PM
I was there, and must admit one of the best gatherings ever.
Tony @ Dec 19th 2006 8:20PM
Definitely a great show. I'm sure it will continue to grow. Even though the location this year was big, they are going to need a bigger spot soon.
emulous1974 @ Dec 19th 2006 10:26PM
This is such a win-win for everyone. Car clubs reaching out to kids is something I'm very proud of, whether it's getting illegal street racers into legal auto-x racing or donating matchbox cars that so many of us grew up playing with and helped lead to our love of most things with 2 to 4 wheels, it's always nice to see.
The New England Ferrari club always does a benefit show for the Connecticut Childrens Medical Center in Hartford on Father's Day and drives the kids from the Hospital to the State Capital and has a free show without any barriers to seeing the cars.
I threw the X-mas meeting for the Lambda Car Club - Nutmeg Chapter this year and got everyone to bring in matchbox cars, over 200 toy cars were donated to the CT Children's Medical Center yesterday. Not bad for a first time effort, hopefully the kids will enjoy them and this is a tradition that will grow.