LANCASTER – The California Highway Patrol Antelope Valley Area Office collected more than 8,000 toys this year as part of the CHiPs for Kids Toy Drive.
“It’s a new record,” said CHP Officer Gil Hernandez. “We actually had the record of 5,000 and we broke that; we upped it to 7,000, then we upped it to 8,000, and we broke that [goal].”
The final number was 8,350 toys, Hernandez said.
The local toy drive officially kicked off Nov. 29 with a CHiPs for Kids “Stuff-A-Bus” event at the Lancaster Walmart. Then CHP officers donated their time at various local sites, collecting new, unwrapped toys from shoppers and generous community supporters. A number of toys were also collected at drop-off locations throughout the Antelope Valley and at other stuff-a-bus events within the past month.
“We had alot of members of the community, as well as organizations, put on toy drives for us,” Hernandez added.
The toy drive ended Dec. 22, and the toys collected were given to charitable organizations, which distributed the toys to the less fortunate children in the local community, according to Hernandez.
“We definitely want to thank the entire Antelope Valley for making this toy drive so successful, because without them this wouldn’t have happened,” Hernandez said. “This will be 8,300 kids with a smile and something to open on Christmas day.”
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