In honor of Giving Tuesday (aka Giving “Toys” Day), The Walt Disney Company shared that the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive, thanks to the support of families and fans, has collected 16,125 toys so far this holiday season for the Marine Toys for Tots program. To celebrate more than 75 years of collaboration, Disney announced that the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive has provided grants to the organization to deliver another 75,000 toys to children in need.
ABC News’ Ginger Zee announced the donation on Good Morning America, where Staff Sergeant (SSgt) James Caldwell, a hero and volunteer with a decades-long connection to Toys for Tots, was on hand with fellow Marines to start wrapping some of the donated toys.
SSgt Caldwell served as the coordinator of his local Toys for Tots chapter in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the past two years—though his personal connection with the organization dates back to his childhood. Born into the foster care system, James found his forever family at just 6 months old when foster parents Bill and Judith Caldwell took him in. At 4 years old, James was adopted, a day he describes as “winning the lottery” and “the greatest thing that ever happened” to him.
SSgt Caldwell remembers receiving Toys for Tots gifts every Christmas for the first decade of his life, and he credits receiving these gifts as part of the reason he was inspired to join the Marine Corps to serve his country.
Now, he embraces the opportunity to give back to other children in need, carrying forward the legacy that shaped his own life. SSgt Caldwell has been involved with Toys for Tots throughout the entirety of his career and says he doesn’t remember a time when it wasn’t a part of his life.
Disney’s relationship with the Toys for Tots program dates back to 1947, when Walt Disney and his team of animators designed the Toys for Tots logo that is still used today. Since then, Marines and volunteers have distributed 652 million toys to over 291 million children.
There are two ways to donate toys to the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive:
- Donate a toy online at shopDisney.com through December 24, 2023.
- Donate a new, unwrapped toy in person at a drop-off location now through December 15, 2023. For locations across the United States, click here.
