IslandCorps sets 15K toy goal for annual holiday drive
IslandCorps has launched its fifth annual BIG Toy Drive, aiming to collect 15,000 toys for children in Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable and remote communities.
The initiative, which runs through Jan. 5, seeks to reach families across the island, including in Culebra and Vieques, through expanded partnerships and new digital donation tools.
The nonprofit, which focuses on reimagining education to support pediatric health and wellness, said last year’s campaign collected 10,500 toys in collaboration with more than 30 community organizations.
This year, IslandCorps is broadening participation by introducing Puerto Rico’s first children’s Amazon wish list for a holiday toy drive, allowing members of the diaspora and U.S. mainland corporate partners to donate and ship directly to the organization’s headquarters.
“To you, it may be just a toy, but to our children in need, a toy during the holidays is a warm embrace from your family to their lives,” said Executive Director Lulu Mayorga.
She said engaging partners across the United States and Puerto Rico is creating “a movement that extends far beyond the island.”
Businesses can support the campaign by hosting hand-made toy collection boxes, organizing toy-wrapping events for employees or sponsoring a Christmas Joy Event at an IslandCorps-adopted Title I elementary school. The events include toy distribution along with mental-health, anti-bullying and violence-prevention programming for pre-K through fifth-grade students.
Corporate partners supporting this year’s toy drive include Piloto 151, FirstBank, O’Neill & Borges, Saint John’s School, Corcoran Puerto Rico and the Sheraton Hotel and Casino.
Local and international volunteers, including three Miss World Puerto Rico titleholders, will participate in distribution efforts backed by IslandCorps’ technology system for tracking and managing donations.
The drive will end with community events and Three Kings Day celebrations across Puerto Rico. Donors and sponsors can learn more at islandcorps.org or by contacting the BIG Toy Drive team.
