Mission Statement
To provide charitable relief and assistance to individuals and families in DC, MD, VA and Latin American countries throughout the year and during the holidays.
Vision
All individuals and families will have access to essential items for daily living and during the holidays.
Our Story
In 2012, a group of friends decided to organize a toy drive for the holiday season, called Toys for Joy. The toy drive has created in us a sense of belonging and understanding of our roles in the communities that we live in. It has brought together old friends and fostered new friendships in our mission to bring some holiday joy to the DMV children and families.
Highlights:
- Past 11 years, we have been able to collect over 1,500 toys.
- We have distributed monetary funds to charity organizations including Rosemount Center, National Center for Children and Families, Nourish Now, Identity, Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect (HACAN) and Hearts and Homes for Youth in DC, Maryland and Virginia (DMV).
- We have used cash donations to purchase toys and distribute internationally to less fortunate children in Hospital Infantil Universitario de San José in Bogota, Colombia, Centro Infantil del Buen Vivir (CIBV) Niños Alegres daycare center in Riobamba, Ecuador, Centro Infantil Santa Teresita, a low income day care center in El Salvador and Hospital General de Cancun in Mexico.
- In 2018, we sent funds and warm blankets to Enclave Caracol in Tijuana, Mexico for those seeking asylum at the border.
- We have donated over 100 toys to orphanages in San Jose, Costa Rica and El Salgado, Anamuya in Dominican Republic.
- In 2020, we were able to donate to Iota hurricane relief funds for Honduras and Nicaragua.
- In 2021, we donated to a Special Education field trip in Montgomery County, MD; a women’s shelter and toys to Ecuador and El Salvador.
