BJ's Party and Toy Drive for Military Families 2021

As guests entered BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse on December 7th, for the annual Military Toy Drive party, they were pleasantly surprised. When looking at the display tables filled with all the toys purchased or donated to this toy drive, they were delighted by the overwhelming number of toys. The tables were filled with dolls, trucks, stuffed animals, cars, basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, tea sets, miscellaneous games, bike helmets, robots, Lego sets, and everything in between. La Mesa Chamber members, friends and sponsors came together to celebrate the strength and commitment of our community, in suppport of our families living in La Mesa military housing. The Chamber has a strong belief that being a leader within a community includes giving back and making a difference.

This is the 7th year that we have assisted these children and their families. We are honored to partner with the following sponsors who helped make this happen: Presenting Sponsor, EDCO, joined by Supporting Sponsors, AMR, Kirk Paving, Inc., and Amanda Hammett Insurance & Financial Services – State Farm. A grand total of over 950 toys, books and other items were purchased and collected to make the holidays a little brighter for these families. This project is done in partnership with Liberty Military Housing, the group that manages military housing throughout the nation. They host holiday events within our region for over 2,000 military children. Representatives from Liberty Military Housing, Cindy Farless and Dan Murphy were on hand to mix and mingle and give guests insight on their organization and particularly our local military families.

Supervisor Joel Anderson sent his representative, Alicia Corona who was assisted by Marc Schaefer, to present the sponsors with certificates of recognition and surprise the volunteer team, with certificates of appreciation, as well.

The Chamber is grateful for Matthew Eastman’s team, who did a wonderful job of keeping the platters filled with piping hot pizzas, pasta dishes and chilled salads and providing excellent service throughout the night. Our special thanks to the dedicated volunteers who assisted, the attendees who donated toys, the sponsors and to the many wonderful community members who dropped off toys and supported this special holiday project!

Photos courtesy of Sandra Small/ Photographer.

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