ROANOKE, Va. – A local non-profit, HopeDriven, is sharing Christmas cheer through a toy drive for kids in the hospital.
“We know how many kids that are sick and in need and so we know that every little bit that we get is a huge difference at the hospital as these kids are away from their families during the holiday,” Kevin Jenkins, president of HopeDriven said.
“We know they are going through some hard times, so we just want to bring them a little joy,” Bryan Hicks, vice president of HopeDriven said.
Melissa Presley was one of multiple people donating to HopeDriven and the sick kids in the hospital.
“Their mission means a lot to our family and just helping the kids who are going through a lot of illness and just different things that they’re struggling with and just making a difference for those children at this time of year and throughout the whole year,” Presley said.
HopeDriven told us last year they had a great turnout.
“We had quite a few tables, I think we had three or four tables out here and we filled up every one of them. We had stuff lined under the tables, we ended up having so much, they moved it from one hospital to the next,” Hicks said.
This year, it was around the same amount within the four-hour donation period.
The non-profit is aiming to bring the Christmas spirit to everyone this year, especially the ones away from home.
“On top of that many of these kids are away from their families during the holidays because of their sickness or disease or injuries and I could not imagine, being a father, myself not having my child home for Christmas and imagining them being there alone,” Jenkins said.