HOUSTON — To make sure Houston-area kids have a happy holiday season, for the first time Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth and Texas radio legend 'Jammin' Jimmy Olson are joining forces to collect as many toys and non-perishable foods as they can to donate to local charities.
The annual event ‘Ton of Toys Toy Drive’ kicked off Friday in West Houston.
"My goal is to make sure no child goes to bed hungry and every child smiles on Christmas morning,” said Olson.
Olson, a Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductee, has been on Houston radio airwaves since 1988, but he shared his true calling has been helping kids in need. That's why he started the toy and food drive for more than two decades, which to this day is still held outside the Walmart on Westheimer and Dunvale Road.
"I can't imagine 26 years still doing it, but as long as a child is still in need, this is why I do it, because if a child is in a situation that is not their fault, you cannot tell a child Santa is broke,” Olson said.
This year, he's teamed up with Trae Tha Truth and his organization, Angel by Nature, to make sure kids in the Houston area have a toy for Christmas.
"One thing I know for sure this holiday we're going to bless a lot of kids,” Trae Tha Truth said.
He shared he hopes the donations will also help ease some of the burdens off struggling families.
"I think this year has been probably one of the most drastic years in a long time for people as far as it being financial burden, mental, spiritually broken down, I think everybody needs that uplifting,” he said.
For the next four days, they're hoping to fill two large storage containers with donations.
"At least 2,000 pounds of toys and 10,000 pounds of non-perishable foods,” Olson said.
Trae Tha Truth said to make it happen, they’ll need everyone’s help.
"The City of Houston coming together is what's really what's going to make the impact bigger, so we invite everybody to take part to come donate, drop off toys on top of all the stuff we're doing, we're going to make it a big thing for the city as a whole."
Among the shoppers who gave back Friday was Jordan Davis.
"I've been in some very unfortunate situations where I needed donations, my family needed donations and we all were thankful at the time we had those things, those little things that help like baby wipes and cans of chili, just small stuff that'll get you through the holidays,” Davis said.
He shared a message hoping to inspire others to pay it forward.
"Doing good always comes back to you tenfold," Davis said. "I'm living proof of that, and I live by that every single day."
If you want to help, Tons of Toys toy and food drive is happening from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Monday.
Donations collected will go on to help local organizations, including the Houston Food Bank, Toys for Tots, and BEAR (Be a Resource for CPS Kids).
Monetary donations are also welcome, as well as volunteers, click here if you’d like to sign up.
