1,200 Toys Donated By Former Struggling Single Mom From Barnegat

BARNEGAT, NJ — When former struggling single mom Dawn Castronuovo decided to do a toy drive this year, she had no idea what impact she would have on the community.

What started out as a way for her to pass forward the kindness she had received years ago during the holiday season bloomed into a huge operation.

Her original goal was to collect 100 toys and gifts through her new organization "Elfie's House."

She donated 1,210.

"What started out as just a conversation between my husband and myself blossomed," Castronuovo previously told Patch. Read More: Hundreds Of Toys Collected By 'Elfie's House' For Barnegat, Stafford

It was originally supposed to be a small donation box in front of her festively-decorated home, but quickly grew into something much larger, thanks to the power of social media and news stations, even getting picked up by NBC Philadelphia.

The toys have been collected by the Barnegat PBA and Stafford PBA for distribution to families in need in those towns.

But it won't stop here.

Castronuovo hopes to expand the organization into more of a community thing than just a toy drive next year, helping out neighboring towns as well.

This year, though, she can relax knowing that 1,210 people have received gifts thanks to her work.

"This has been such an incredible experience and once again I can't thank everyone enough who supported us," she said.