Toys for Toga recently completed its 2023 campaign and with the support of more than 90 local businesses, we donated more than 3,000 toys and $20,000 in gift cards and donations to three Saratoga County community services centers to help give local children the happy holidays they deserve.
Included in the donations were $15,000 in gifts specifically for local teenagers donated by longtime Toys for Toga sponsor Death Wish Coffee.
The donations were delivered to Toys for Toga’s three beneficiaries on Dec. 14 following a news conference at DeCrescente Distributing Company in Mechanicville.
“Toys for Toga has become a truly collaborative community program and with the help of many new businesses joining our mission this year, we made sure hundreds of kids in our region will have an incredible Christmas,” said Carmine DeCrescente III, Vice President of DeCrescente Distributing Company, a longtime member of Toys for Toga that organizes the program and distributes toy bins across Saratoga County.
This year’s participants included local restaurants, retail stores, hotels, clubs and even Saratoga Central Catholic School’s National Junior Honor Society.
In addition to toy collection bins at 90 Saratoga County businesses, and the $15,000 in gifts from Death Wish Coffee, donations were collected in the following ways:
- The sale of Druthers Toys for Toga Winter Ale, produced exclusively for this program.
- The generosity of Ball Corporation and its employees, who donated hundreds of toys and more than $2,000 this year.
- Fundraising events at this year’s Victorian Street Walk, Franklin Square Market, Quick Response Restoration, G Willikers Toys, Dunning Street Station, The Horseshoe Inn, DZ Restaurants and more.
- Death Wish Coffee giving away 1,500 bags of coffee in exchange for toys at events and locations across Saratoga County.
Darryl Leggieri, President of Discover Saratoga said, “Discover Saratoga takes great pride in being one of the founding members of Toys for Toga, and we look forward to participating in this wonderful cause each year. We’d like to thank all the local businesses for participating. Without your support this campaign wouldn’t be possible.”
Businesses who would like to participate next year are encouraged to contact Roberto Cruz, Communications Manager at DeCrescente Distributing, at r.cruz@ddcbev.com, by phone at 518-539-2035 or on Facebook messenger.
For more information, please go to www.toysfortoga.com
About Toys for Toga
Founded in 2012, Toys for Toga is a locally run community partnership and fundraiser that collects toys and raises money to give local kids happy holidays. Partners include DeCrescente Distributing Company, Death Wish Coffee, Discover Saratoga, Druthers Brewing Company, Quick Response Restoration, Ball Corp, Brewnited and Franklin Square Market. Everything collected is split between 3 local charities: Fraklin Community Center (Saratoga), CAPTAIN Community Human Services (Clifton Park) and the Mechanicville Area Community Services Center.