Annual toy drive provides gifts to local children in need
ORANGE – Santa is looking for elves to help fill OCTA buses with toys for local children in need on Friday, Dec. 19 from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Honda Center in Anaheim.
The public is encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys or sporting equipment to Honda Center parking lot at 2695 E. Katella Ave. in Anaheim for the 22nd annual Stuff-A-Bus event. Toys will be distributed to children in need throughout the community.
The event supports the Spark of Love toy drive and is sponsored by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), ABC7, Honda Center and the Anaheim Ducks.
Garth Kemp of ABC7 will be on-site to broadcast the event and greet the public, while firefighters from across Southern California will help collect and load the toys.
Last year’s event was a record breaking drive, filling 17 buses and one flatbed truck with toys and bicycles, beating the previous year’s record of 14 buses. This year OCTA, ABC7, Honda Center and the Anaheim Ducks hope residents will come out and donate more toys than ever before.
“The holidays are a perfect time to give back to our community and spread cheer to children in need,” said OCTA Chairman Shawn Nelson. “The Stuff-A-Bus event is a wonderful tradition and I encourage everyone to participate.”
All donations benefit the Spark of Love toy drive, a program that has collected more than 7.5 million toys for children over the past two decades. Firefighters from Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties have supported the Spark of Love toy drive for more than 20 years.
