Stronger Together: Jansen Family Toy Drive

The Jansen Family Toy Drive has helped bring joy to thousands of children in our community over the holidays.

In 2014, six-year-old Jacob Jansen and his four-year-old sister Olivia were helping out at their church; organzing toys for a hamper program to support families who were struggling over the holiday season.

When Jacob got home that evening, he told his mom he wanted to start a program.

“He went into his room and started putting toys in an empty laundry basket and asked if he could give them to kids who didn’t have any,” said mom Meaghan Jansen, and the Jansen Family Toy Drive was born.

It continues to grow and is now in its seventh year, having supported over 4,500 children in the community.

The family says the need has doubled over the last two years, and this is their largest year to date.

This year they are hoping to help close to 1,200 kids, and Jacob says it makes him feel warm-hearted inside.

The Jansens collect new and gently used toys, books and games through numerous drop zones in the city.

The donations are matched with the help of charitable organizations and this year they are supporting an entire public school.

“We got a picture from one of the teachers this year, an empty classroom with bags of wrapped gifts, the teachers wrapped the gifts. Imagine walking into a classroom and seeing your Christmas morning."

"A lot of these kids celebrate Christmas morning at school. It is very emotional especially when we do our deliveries to see the smiles and thanks and appreciation goes a long way,” says Meaghan.

The toy drive for this year has wrapped up, and the Jansen family is busy organizing toys with deliveries slated to continue next week.

Jacob says, “It makes me feel good inside that people are having a good Christmas, like I am.”