The History and Vision of the Kids2Kids Toy Drive

Jim Kacmarcik, together with his family, founded the Kids2Kids Toy Drive in 2006 with a grassroots toy collection at Kapco and developed a long-standing partnership with 620 WTMJ. Every year, increasing participation from local schools and businesses to host an annual toy collection event, which has evolved into a “Celebration of Giving” and continues to make a lasting impact on our community.

Approach

• Empowering children to take an active role in giving, volunteering and leading.
• Encourage community participation – engaging with local schools and businesses to collect toys and volunteer.
• Build partnerships: collaborating with local non-profits and agencies to ensure toys are distributed efficiently to those who need them most.
• Experiential engagement: creating meaningful opportunities to bring the community together, providing interactive and memorable experiences (for participants and volunteers).

Impact

2025 marked the 20th anniversary of the toy drive, generating over 350,000 toys! Annually activating hundreds of volunteers and benefitting dozens of non-profits – going beyond toy collection by instilling lifelong values of generosity, service, community.

Celebration of Giving Event