Hillsides Launches Holiday Toy Drive in 55 Local Starbucks Stores

For the fifth year in a row, Starbucks is sponsoring a toy drive in participating Starbucks stores in the San Gabriel Valley and surrounding area. This year, 55 stores will be participating. The drive will run from December 12 – December 25.

Each store will feature a large white donation box topped with a red gift box and decorated with colorful holiday ribbon and a Hillsides poster. “We are asking customers to please consider donating new, unwrapped toys when they visit Starbucks,” said Laura Kelso, Hillsides director of community resources. “These gifts are incredibly important to the children and families Hillsides serves because otherwise, they may not receive anything for the holidays.”

Starbucks began its Hillsides toy drive in 2010 with donation boxes in 12 stores. Since then, the number of participating stores has grown steadily each year. “This toy drive has become a real tradition for us,” said Starbucks district manager Jennifer Vanderpool. “It feels good to partner with a local San Gabriel charity so embedded in the community and to create even more awareness of Hillsides with our many customers.” She estimates that the toy drive will collect some 2,000 toys for children in need.

This year, Starbucks employees also assembled the donation boxes that will be used in the stores. Twenty-five Starbucks volunteers, ranging from baristas to regional managers, spent three hours at Hillsides main campus in Pasadena wrapping and decorating the boxes.

In addition to its holiday support, Starbucks has partnered with Hillsides Youth Moving On (YMO) program, which provides youth formerly in foster care or probation affordable quality housing and numerous other support services. Starbucks has hired two recent graduates of the YMO housing program, and both youth have seen great success at the company. One YMO hire was recently named district partner of the year — a distinction that only four employees out of 300 was awarded.

“We are very thankful for the tremendous generosity the local Starbucks community has shown Hillsides during the holidays and throughout the year with its support of our YMO program, and look forward to a continued collaboration in the future,” said Joseph M. Costa, Hillsides chief executive officer.

Hillsides, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Pasadena, is a premier provider dedicated to improving the overall well-being and functioning of children, youth, and families in need throughout Los Angeles County. To find a list of participating Starbucks stores, please visit Hillsides news page. To learn more about Hillsides and holiday giving opportunities at Hillsides, please visit www.hillsides.org.