"Today" is pleased to announce that our tenth annual holiday toy drive was hugely successful thanks to the contributions of viewers and companies. For this special holiday season, $13.5 million worth of toys, books, games, clothing, electronics and cash was donated from our generous partners to 210 non profit organizations serving 750,000 children and their families nationwide.
The unique drive, which provides gifts for children and teenagers across the country, who might not otherwise receive any, began Monday, December 1 and continued every day through Wednesday December 24th. So many surprise guests appeared to help us collect donations from our viewers and entertain the crowd during the holiday season. Greetings came from Magic Johnson, Boy George, Jimmy Smits, Jessica Alba, Alex Rodriguez, Martin Sheen, Susan Lucci, Harvey Fierstein, Donald Trump, Reba McEntyre, Colin Firth, Jesse L. Martin, Kevin Bacon, John Spencer, Ruben Studdard, Ashanti, Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child, and others greeted visitors to studio 1-A.
We say thank you to all who took the time to contribute either at our studio or online. All donations no matter how small are appreciated. Thank you for joining us to help make the holidays brighter for so many children.
The “Today” show toy drive is a project of the Today Show Charitable Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent the law allows.
The recipients
Gifts went to more than 210 children's service organizations serving more than 750,000 children nationwide, from Florida to Alaska. The organizations included: homeless shelters, domestic abuse shelters, schools, after school programs, day care programs, children's hospitals, developmentally disabled preschools, youth centers, native American reservations, victims services, career training programs, local organizations that help parents in need and many other service organizations.