Share The Joy. Share A Toy!

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Operation Stocking Stuffer is the Houston Fire Department’s annual holiday toy drive which has become one of the largest community outreach programs of it’s type anywhere. It all started over 30 years when a Houston area teacher, Ms. Lorugene Young (1943-2017), wanted to help her students and other disadvantaged children with Christmas gifts for the holiday. She collected used toys and began to distribute them in her area out of the trunk of her car. A few years later, after seeing the need in the community, Ms. Young approached the Houston Fire Department with the idea of using fire stations as toy collection locations for her program.  The partnership with HFD began modestly but once the word got around, more and more community and business leaders came on board to make Operation Stocking Stuffer what it has become today-a massive, community-driven effort helping thousands of families every year.

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In 2023, Operation Stocking Stuffer provided toys and gifts for more than 30,000!  Working with over 100 small, local businesses and iconic, global corporations, the members of the Houston Fire Department collect hundreds of thousands of toys, bikes and gifts at HFD fire stations and offices and businesses all around the Houston area. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, these toys are then sorted and distributed just in time for the holiday.

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