KIRO 7 Cares Toy Drive to benefit Toys for Tots

Thanks to YOU, thousands of kids in Western Washington will receive new toys for Christmas this year. More than 100,000 new toys were collected in the annual KIRO 7 Cares Toys Drive, to benefit Toys for Tots!

The KIRO 7 Cares Toy Drive kicked off November 11th at Northwest Cadillac Dealers and Azteca Mexican Restaurants, who collected toys through December 15. Thousands of new toys were collected at seven Northwest Cadillac Dealers and 20 Azteca Mexican Restaurant locations.

The magic of the holidays got into full swing, as the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve joined KIRO 7 for a 10-hour Toy Drive that took place outside the KIRO 7 studios on December 6. Our KIRO 7 Cares partner, Northwest Cadillac Dealers, set the pace for the day, and headed with the KIRO 7 morning news team, Michelle Millman and Alexis Smith to gather toys that were collected at local businesses as part of the KIRO 7 Mobile Tweetup. Catch the highlights HERE.

Throughout the day, we were blown away by the support of the generous KIRO 7 viewers and numerous local companies, including CenturyLink, American Medical Response, Washington State Ferries, Seafair Clowns, to name a few. Despite it being a little chilly,  the KIRO 7 Anchors broadcast live thought the day, encouraging viewers to stop by KIRO 7 or one of the satellite locations in Everett or Tacoma to drop off new, unwrapped toys and monetary donations.

We were very excited to have some very special guests for at the KIRO 7 Cares Toy Drive.

Guests included:

• Reina Almon, Miss Washington 2013
• Emily Rio Barber, Miss Seafair 2013
• Sea Gals, Jessica and Christian
• Doppler, Seattle Storm Mascot
• Seafair Clowns
• Blitz, Seattle Seahawks Mascot
• Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline
• And, of course, SANTA!

KIRO 7 and Toys for Tots would like to thank our KIRO 7 Cares partners, Northwest Cadillac Dealers and Northwest Center for making this event possible. Also we want to extend a special thank you to all the local companies, organizations and individuals who donated. Your efforts and generosity will assure children all over Western Washington have a magical holiday!

About Toys for Tots:

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. To find out more information, please visit Toys for Tots.

KIRO