Big thanks to Windermere Preparatory School for allowing Amy and I to host our 2nd annual Toys for Hope, new toy drive. All the toys collected go to homeless and at risk children, giving them a Christmas they deserve.
Windermere Prep offered their offices to be a drop-off between the 6-15th of December for anyone in the community who wanted to donate. As a result, we needed a truck and full size van to carry them off!
We are so grateful to the entire community for their generous hearts.
2016
I want to thank everyone who stepped up and supported my family yesterday with our Toys for Hope event. We are so grateful for the people who helped spread the word about the event, and of course, all of you who came by to drop off gifts and say hi. Thanks to those who stayed and helped pack up the donations and thank you to Windermere Preparatory School who graciously allowed us to use their property as a drop-off point as well as help draw people in to support the cause.
Our Toys for Hope event collected over 300 gifts in just 3 hours! The event took place from 1-4pm on December 6th and by 4pm we needed to call in reinforcements to help haul all the goods. Three car/truck loads were packed to the max and were hauled off to the Matthew’s Hope warehouse in Winter Garden.
All the gifts collected at our event will be set up on display at the Matthew’s Hope Christmas Carnival, which takes place on December 12th. There, children who are homeless, and whose families are working with the Matthew’s Hope program, will walk through a room of toys and gifts filling out a list of things they want to ask Santa for. They will then meet Santa who arrives on a fire truck courtesy of the Winter Garden Fire Department. With the help of their families, and of course Santa, Christmas morning will become a magical moment for these beautiful children.
Matthew’s Hope is a program that works hard day in and day out helping rehabilitate people who are homeless. The program, which refers to the homeless as Guests, provides healthcare, counseling, transitional housing, jobs and services such as haircuts, showers and more. Guests who enroll in the program are given jobs that help them earn points that they can use towards purchasing needed items. There is a large pantry on-site at Matthew’s Hope where Guests can buy things such as food, diapers and toiletries. Once Guests have reached a certain level in the program they will receive career counseling and help in finding a job. Matthew’s Hope is dedicated in the community to providing people in need with a hand up rather than a hand out. For more information, you can find them at www.matthewshopeministries.org.
This year Amy and I are hosting the Toys for Hope event which is a New Toy Drive for kids who are homeless and at-risk families who will be attending the Christmas Carnival put on by Matthew’s Hope in our neighboring town of Winter Garden, days later.
Each year, Matthew’s Hope puts on a Christmas Carnival where volunteers organize games for families who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Kids walk around and have a chance to win prizes while they wait for the arrival of Santa Claus, who comes in riding on a Fire Truck courtesy of the Winter Garden Fire Department. When Santa arrives, the kids are guided through a large room of new toys, and with the help of volunteers, they put together a Christmas list of items they want to ask Santa for. The children then meet Santa and he takes their list to fulfill their wishes.
We are asking everyone in the Metro Orlando community to join us in helping bring joy to all these children by buying new toys and dropping them off at Windermere Preparatory School from 1-4pm on December 6th.
If you are unsure of what to buy, we can provide a list at your request. Because of the daily involvement of Matthew’s Hope in the community there will be no limit of donations as they are in tune with the community and have the ability to bless others that may not attend the Christmas Carnival.
Windermere Preparatory School is located at 6189 Winter Garden Vineland Rd, Windermere, FL 34786
Thank you all! If you have any questions, please call or email to our info below
Dave & Amy Vanz
407-850-8269
