Children and their families left the Oceano Elementary parking lot with new gifts and new experiences.
“I got this cute little lemur and this lego set,” participant Greyson Arguijo said.
“I got the motorcycle bike," Logan Taylor, another participant, said. "I'm scared of riding it cause, like, I never rode a bike before.”
Toy drive organizer Lisa Ray said at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, she was already getting calls from families waiting for the 9 a.m. drive to start.
Ray is the founder of the Children’s Resource Network, which partnered with the California Highway Patrol to host the free, first come first served toy drive for less fortunate families.
“You know, Santa Claus doesn't just go to the rich houses," Ray said. "We have to make sure Santa Claus goes to all houses, and that's what we're doing... Everybody goes through struggles in their life at some point in time, so we just want to be there to be a helpful hand for the families and the parents.”
Each child could take two gifts from the hundreds of toys, clothes, and bikes donated by the community and sponsors like Levi's, Macy's, and Walmart.
Annika Lomeli brought her children to the drive. She said this event helped ease the financial strain that comes with the holidays.
“Everyone struggles around this time of year," Lomeli said. "It's no secret for anybody. We have a little one on the way, our last one. But, yeah, I think it's really nice that they offer things like this because it is hard.”
Michael Taylor, Logan's dad, said this experience isn’t just about the gifts, it's about the feeling of community and support during this special time of year.
“It means that we're not alone out here," Taylor said. "Like, people want to get together and celebrate the holidays together, and I think that's really huge.”
