To those of you who participated in our annual Christmas toy drive – whether you donated a toy, hosted a collection site at your business or gave of your time to help moms and dads shop for gifts at the Toy Shop  – THANK YOU! More than 13,000 toys were collected and purchased this season through our Angel Tree and WISH Tree collection drive – you gave more than $15,000 outside Lucas Oil Stadium, online and by mail.

It’s a huge undertaking to serve that many families. Over 100 volunteers as well as on-air personalities from WISH-TV helped parents shop at our annual distribution day – our Toy Shop at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. And thanks to our friends at WARM 93.9 for keeping the tunes coming for those waiting to shop. That little extra Christmas cheer went a long way!

The need was great. While last year, about 700 families applied for the program, nearly 30% more moms and dads needed a little help making Christmas merry and bright for their families this year. We weren’t sure we could serve all who applied, but due to a healthy dose of divine intervention, generous mentions on-air by our media partners and some good old Hoosier generosity, this year was our most successful Toy Shop to date!

Of course, we couldn’t do what we do without our partners, so thanks to the folks at WISH-TV, the Indianapolis Colts, our Angel Tree and WISH Tree partners, our volunteers, and the thousands of Hoosiers who donated. When you sit around the tree opening your gifts next week, you can feel good knowing that your donations helped make it a Merry Christmas for 900 families. Now that’s “Doing the Most Good”!