Banners placed around town advertising the event and volunteers holding signs were used to direct and thank donors.
San Diego, CA: Saturday October 24th saw San Diegans working together at 11 drive through drop-off locations throughout San Diego from Chula Vista to Carlsbad. collecting and donating over 2,400 new stuffed animals that will provide comfort to sick children and their siblings during their stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Donations were taken by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego.
Pastor John Quinata of Our Father’s Grace Ministries has organized this event for the past 5 years. This year, 51 congregations of different faiths and numerous businesses participated in this county-wide drive-thru event. A generous printer and graphic designer also donated their time to help.
11 parking lots around the county were set up with tables, collection boxes, storage boxes, and masked & gloved volunteers. Volunteers gathered the donations from each car and then tied a tag with a special message to each stuffed animal. The tag read “A Gift of Love, Hope & Prayers from Our Father’s Grace Ministries and the Interfaith Community of San Diego”.
Volunteers used the website JustServe.org to find the location nearest them to drop-off their stuffed animals.
See below for earlier coverage of the event by KUSI: