AKRON, Ohio — Akron grandparents and a 13-year-old girl are joining forces with a church to organize a "Stop the Violence" toy and coat drive.
Inside Providence Baptist Church on Madison Avenue, dolls, games, stuffed animals, books, trucks and winter coats are piling up.
Organizers are estimating 700 toys and 200 coats will be given away on Saturday at the Ed Davis Community Center in Akron.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the donated items will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis.
"I honestly believe— my parents raised me— it's not always about receiving. It's about the giving," said Pastor Vincent Peterson.
Beyond the generosity, Peterson said the underlying anti-violence theme shows kids that the community cares while also encouraging them to avoid trouble.
"We want people to think. We want them to use their head. We want them to think before they make decisions," Peterson said.
The idea for the toy drive came from Akron grandparents, Duane and Mia Strong, whose grandson survived a shooting on Juneteenth in 2023.
Since then, they've been on a mission— spending some of their own money— to help kids and steer them away from violence.
"This is the Strongs, who initiated this, and I give them a lot of credit, a lot of credit, for taking a negative situation and turning it into a positive, not just to benefit them," Peterson said.
Noelle Toney, a 13-year-old girl from Akron, is also part of the kind campaign.
"I've always had really big, nice Christmases, and I wanted kids who weren't as fortunate to experience the same thing," she said.
Noelle was only 10 when she helped launch Noelle's Impact Foundation. Over the past couple of years, she has collected hundreds of toys at her school, Emmanuel Christian Academy.
Her efforts captured the attention of the Soul of Philanthropy, which awarded the teen with the "Outstanding Youth Philanthropist" award last month.
Her story, which includes a video presentation, is on display at the Akron Art Museum.
"It means a lot. It makes me feel seen," Noelle said.
While the toys are coming from many sources, everyone involved has the same goal— to make the holidays brighter for others.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be a verbal message. It's the act of giving and spending time doing this, which we hope conveys what words really can't sometimes," Peterson said.
