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In 2020, as the pandemic deepened need across the country, Toys for Tots and Good360 came together around a shared purpose: make sure children could still experience the joy of play, even when families were stretched thin and the world felt uncertain. In that first year alone, the partnership reached more than 660,000 children.
Now entering its sixth year, that founding energy has only grown, reaching 3.3 million children and placing 9.5 million toys, books, and games into the hands of children who might otherwise go without. It is a collaboration rooted in shared purpose and sustained by a nationwide network of nonprofit partners who carry this work into their communities every day.
The Work in Action
A father of four in Idaho stood at the end of a summer fair, watching each of his children carry away a toy they had chosen themselves. Prices had been going up, he said, and it wasn’t always easy to say yes. That day, he didn’t have to say no. “Toys for Tots didn’t just give my boys toys,” he said. “They gave us a memory we will treasure.”
Astegos, Inc. | Nampa, Idaho
In Arkansas, a child spotted a football on the table and couldn’t contain himself. He had never had one. He had always wanted one. A mother of eight nearby told volunteers she could never have afforded toys like these for all her children. She said thank you the way people do when they mean something much larger than the words.
Hand to Hand Foundation | Alma, Arkansas
At a back-to-school night in Colorado, a mother watched her children move through tables of new toys and felt something she hadn’t expected: relief. Her kids had had a hard summer. Seeing their faces light up, she said, brought tears and happiness to her heart. Her son found a Tamagotchi he had been searching for and wouldn’t put it down for the rest of the year.
A Precious Child | Broomfield, Colorado
In South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation, families were still rebuilding from a year marked by severe winter storms, flooding, and displacement. At a community celebration, an elder named George* attended his first community gathering in months. Volunteers helped him select warm winter items and small gifts for his grandchildren, and as he watched families from the city and the reservation standing side by side, he said he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time: togetherness. “It reminded me that our city and our Tribe stand together when times are hard,” he said. “I felt like I belonged again.” A single mother named Maria* brought her two young sons and watched them choose building sets and art supplies, items she hadn’t been able to afford that year. She said it was the first time in months she had seen them smile without worry.
Cheyenne River Long-Term Recovery Group | Eagle Butte, South Dakota
At a community outreach event in Pennsylvania, eight-year-old Lily* had never received a new toy of her own. When she opened a box and found a dollhouse inside, she held it close and whispered, “This is mine?” At the same event, a teenager arrived unsure of what to expect. She left with overflowing bags and a giant squishmallow and told staff she finally felt seen. Two families who had received emergency infant placements the night before showed up the next morning and left with everything they needed to welcome a child into their home.
Hands in Service | Warrington, Pennsylvania
In Texas, a 70-year-old grandmother named Dorothy* had seven grandchildren placed in her care by Child Protective Services just the night before a community event. Overwhelmed and unprepared, she brought them hoping to let them get outside and play. Two hours later, the children had eaten, laughed, and each held something new. It was, she told a volunteer, the first time she had seen them smile since coming into her care. Nearby, a single father named David* had been between jobs for months. His twin children had a birthday coming. He couldn’t afford the basketball his son had been asking for. That day, it found its way into the boy’s hands.
Role Models of America | Spring, Texas
In California, a tribal community gathered for an event where every item was displayed storefront-style and each child could choose up to three gifts. Parents told staff it was the first time in a long while they had felt truly seen. In Cleveland, a ten-year-old girl named Aisha* told volunteers it was the first time she had received something that wasn’t used or already open. Her five-year-old brother said it felt like his birthday and asked if he could come back. In South Florida, thousands of children moved through back-to-school events on summer days that felt nothing like ordinary days, each one leaving with something to carry home and call their own.
Global Empowerment Mission | Los Angeles, California; Smart Development | Cleveland, Ohio; Morningday Community Solutions | Pompano Beach, Florida
In Southwest Florida, a grandmother arrived at a community outreach event caring for two grandchildren placed in her care after a difficult year. As staff approached with toys, she began to cry. She hadn’t known how she was going to make the holidays feel possible for them. “You don’t know how much this means,” she said. “It has been such a hard year for all of us.”
United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades | Fort Myers, Florida
What Toys for Tots and Good360 have built together reaches children through Good360’s nonprofit network, connecting play and learning to the communities that need it most, across back-to-school seasons, disaster recovery efforts, and everyday moments of need in between. Entering year six, the work continues; the network is ready, and somewhere, a child is about to choose their gift.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
