Joey’s Toy Drive
A smiling boy holds the handlebars of his new blue bike, surrounded by Joey's Toy Drive volunteers on distribution day

Our Impact.

Photographs, stories, and the organizations we deliver to.

The Organizations We Deliver To.

Every toy we collect goes to a nonprofit or agency that already serves Bay Area families, and their staff put it in a child’s hands. These are some of them.

Two people give a thumbs-up in front of pallets of boxed toys at CityTeam
A delivery arrives at CityTeam San Jose.

Stories From the Drive.

“We can’t change the world, but we can raise a bunch of toys and put a smile on their faces and make Christmas better.”

Joey Childs, on KTVU, December 2024
A little girl buckled into her car seat, hugging a bright striped stuffed animal on top of a puzzle box

At a Joey’s Toy Drive distribution day in San Jose, volunteers matched toys to each child’s age.

A volunteer in a Joey's Toy Drive hoodie loads a wooden railway set into the open trunk of a family's car

Toys for teenagers run out first. Our volunteers track the remaining inventory and buy gifts for that age group directly.

The Drive in Photographs.

Collection, sorting, and delivery, November through December.

Collection

Two candy-striped Joey's Toy Drive collection boxes beside the prize counter of an arcade
Two Joey's Toy Drive collection boxes beneath a software company's glowing lobby sign
Four Moraga-Orinda Fire District firefighters standing with two collection boxes in front of a fire engine
Moraga-Orinda Fire District firefighters with their collection boxes.

Sorting

Sorting bays stacked with toys, hand-lettered age labels hanging above each bay
A collection box overflowing with stuffed animals beside aisles of sorted toys
A row of new bikes with gift bags on their handlebars

Delivery

The open rear doors of a cargo van packed with two overflowing collection boxes
A shrink-wrapped pallet of boxed toys, a forklift behind it
Two collection boxes in plaid and candy-stripe wrap, filled past the brim with new toys
Eleven seconds: a truckload leaves for CityTeam.

Our History.

  1. 2012

    Joey Childs, age 8, turns a school project into a toy collection: handmade flyers, door to door in San Jose. A few dozen toys the first year.

  2. 2015

    ABC7 covers the drive for the first time, the first of four straight Decembers on the news.

    ABC7's First Story

  3. 2018

    The 49ers profile Joey Childs and the drive at Levi's Stadium.

    The 49ers Feature

  4. 2022

    The drive moves into donated space in San Jose, with partner boxes across the Bay Area. KTVU visits during the drive.

    KTVU's 2022 Story

  5. 2023

    The drive passes ten thousand toys in a single year for the first time.

    KTVU's 2023 Story

  6. 2024

    About 30,000 toys. KTVU covers the drive again.

    KTVU, December 2024

  7. 2025

    Nearly 40,000 toys. Ambassador drives in Monterey and Santa Barbara send their collections home to San Jose.

  8. 2026

    Sign-up for the 2026 drive is open.

    Host a Toy Drive

Run Entirely by Volunteers.

Nearly 40,000 new toys in 2025 and about 30,000 the December before. The drive has no paid staff.

Host a Toy Drive.

Most of the toys we collect arrive through drives hosted by workplaces, schools, and faith communities.

Host a Toy DriveDonate a Toy

Or find a donation site near you.