Toys for Tots toy drive in Heath marks first event in Rockwall County
HEATH, Texas - Hundreds of people in Rockwall County helped support children in need this holiday season by donating toys to Toys for Tots.
FOX 4 and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve are once again teaming up to help collect toys.
Thursday’s big toy drive in Heath was a team effort event with multiple schools and organizations coming together to make a difference in the lives of children.
While Toys for Tots has been around for decades, Thursday’s toy drive was new in Rockwall County.
Jeff Skinner is the Toys for Tots coordinator in Rockwall County.
"We started this in 2018, and it was like three of us that did this. We are Marines, and I said, ‘We need Toys for Tots here,’" he recalled. "It’s something that means a lot to me growing up in the Mesquite area. I was a kid that needed toys. So being a Marine, it just put two and two together."
Students from schools in the county participated in the event.
There were bounce houses, fake snow and gingerbread houses for the kids to enjoy.
Jennifer Jones is the mother of a Rockwall cheerleader who volunteered.
"They donate toys to CASA programs, foster kids, just a spot in my heart for that," she said. "It’s very surprising to see all these boxes lined up, and the care in the community is very heartwarming."
Hundreds of toys were collected.
Skinner said the community coming together is what made this night possible.
"By me giving my time for Toys for Tots and looking at these kids who will have a Christmas who might not have, I sleep peacefully knowing that," he said.
Friday’s Toys for Tots will be in Waxahachie.
You can drop off a new, unwrapped toy at Railyard Park on College Street between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.