Spark Of Love Shared 400K Toys To Tots, Teens In Orange County

LAGUNA BEACH, CA - The Spark of Love Toy Drive enjoyed record success in Laguna Beach, a spokesperson said, filling an entire trolley with toys for the needy kids of Orange County.

"This is the 26th year the Fire Department has participated in the event, which is a partnership with Southern California Firefighters and ABC7," a department spokesperson said. The campaign ran from November 24th through December 24th. Toys collected in the respective counties were distributed locally.

“We want to thank the residents of Laguna Beach for their generous donations which helped us make this year’s Spark of Love campaign another huge success,” said Laguna Beach Firefighter Paramedic Pat Cary. “We had lots of donations come from collections at the Sawdust Winter Fantasy, Hospitality Night and from small functions and events throughout town. Our local schools also helped collect gifts for the campaign.”

The Laguna Beach Fire Department has been involved since the program’s inception and each fire station served as drop-off sites for new, unwrapped toys or sports equipment.

The Spark of Love campaign is the only one created and operated by Firefighters. Together, the Orange County Toy Collaborative collects and distributes approximately 400,000 toys annually to children who would otherwise not be receiving gifts this holiday season.

“The amount of toys we collected is a testament to this community,” Cary said. “We want to sincerely thank everyone who participated for helping us make the holidays happier for thousands of children across Orange County.”

For more information on the Spark of Love campaign, please contact Firefighter Pat Cary at (949)
497-0700.

Photo, Ashley Ludwig, Patch Staff