CINCINNATI — Toyz are coming to the neighborhood to ensure 500 children in Cincinnati have a present this Christmas. The YANI Collective is hosting their first “Toyz N Da Neighborhood” toy drive as way to give back to the community.
“Our goal is to just bring smiles to children’s faces [and] let them know that there are other people out here in the city that care about them and want to see them happy. Not everybody needs to have a lot of toys under the tree during Christmas time, so we just wanted to try and help fill that void,” said Anthony Williams with the YANI Collective.
The YANI Collective is made up of a group of individuals who come together to help the community in various ways.
Williams noted the organization thought a toy drive would be a good way to give back. He said they are expecting to giveaway presents to over 500 children.
“We know in Cincinnati about 70 percent of the kids live in poverty and it’s a hard time for a lot due to like gun violence, you know the uprising in violence in the community, so we just wanted to give something back to Cincinnati to the community,” said Jonathan Gross with the YANI Collective.
There are over 308,000 people living in Cincinnati and one in four live in poverty, according to the Yani Collective.
Gross said some of the kids they’re helping are victims of gun violence and children whose parents are not living at home.
Gross and Williams both said they want these children to know people in the community care about them and their future.
The event will also have food, beverages, photo opportunities with Santa, and free hairstyles and haircuts. It's happening a the Down High School satellite location on Reading Road from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Registration for this event is closed, but the YANI Collective is still looking for monetary donations because they have over 100 kids on their waiting list.
