Fall at Kidzz Helping Kidzz Involves Big Plans, Busy Kids & Lots of Reasons to Smile
Fall has arrived at Kidzz Helping Kidzz, and our Youth Advisory Board has been anything but quiet!
Over the past few months, our kids have been behind the scenes planning, organizing, creating, presenting, problem solving, and preparing for one of our busiest times of year. From counting thousands of toys to transforming cardboard boxes into colorful works of art, they’ve been putting their leadership skills to work in some pretty fun ways.
Here’s a look at what’s been happening at Kidzz Helping Kidzz.
Our Warehouse Has Been a Busy Place
One of the things we love most about youth leadership is watching kids take an ordinary task and turn it into something meaningful.
This summer, our Youth Advisory Board worked together to develop a new process for documenting the value of donated toys. Because Kidzz Helping Kidzz is a nonprofit organization, we need to follow IRS requirements when determining the fair market value of donated goods.
Our youth created a checklist featuring many of the types of toys we typically receive and then tested the process themselves.
To put their new system to work, they tackled all of the toys donated since our last holiday delivery.
That meant counting 1,727 toys!
Working in groups of two and three, the kids sorted through the donations and recorded each toy on the checklist. The project took about two and a half hours, but the warehouse was filled with teamwork, conversation, and plenty of laughter.
It may not sound like the most exciting summer activity, but our kids proved once again that getting important work done is a lot more fun when you do it together.
150 Boxes Are Ready to Collect Some Joy
Our toy collection boxes got their holiday makeover this fall!
During our Toy Collection Box Decorating Parties, Youth Advisory Board members and their friends transformed 150 plain cardboard boxes into the colorful collection boxes that will soon be popping up throughout Kitsap County.
The decorating process may sound simple, but it takes plenty of teamwork. Each box is covered in festive holiday wrapping paper and finished with a Kidzz Helping Kidzz poster and donation sign. Then comes the part that requires a LOT of tape!
Our goal is to make sure the boxes look great when they arrive at their collection sites and, just as importantly, that they survive the journey there without their wrapping paper getting ripped or torn. Our kids worked together to carefully wrap, tape, and prepare all 150 boxes for their upcoming assignments.
On Monday, November 16, the boxes will head out to businesses, schools, churches, and county offices throughout Kitsap County.
And then their job begins: collecting brand-new toys that will bring a little joy and comfort to children spending time in the hospital.
So, if you spot a festive Kidzz Helping Kidzz collection box in your community this fall, you’ll know that a group of our young volunteers helped get it ready! Stop by and drop in a new toy to help bring a little joy and comfort to a child spending time in the hospital.
Prefer to shop from home? You can also support our toy drive by shopping online through our Amazon Wish List. Simply click below or scan the QR code on our materials to find the Wish List and choose a toy to donate.
Whether you drop a toy into a collection box or have one delivered to us, every donation helps us bring smiles to ill children this holiday season!
Young Voices, Big Audience
Our Youth Advisory Board members have also been busy representing Kidzz Helping Kidzz throughout our community.
Three of our youth recently had the opportunity to present to the Bremerton Rotary Club and the Women’s Giving Circle of the Peninsulas. Both organizations generously supported our food drive program, and our youth were excited to share how their support is helping us provide food to children and families experiencing food insecurity.
Since launching our first food drive in 2024, Kidzz Helping Kidzz has helped provide more than 12,400 meals to children and families in Bremerton and South Kitsap. Behind every meal is a child who has one less thing to worry about and a family that knows their community cares.
Our youth also shared another important part of KHK’s story: since 2016, we have delivered more than 67,000 toys to children in Puget Sound area hospitals, bringing joy and comfort to children during some of their most difficult days.
Our youth also shared our newest Kidzz Helping Kidzz video. Created with the help of our youth, the video captures their passion for helping other kids and making a difference in their community. We invite you to watch it and see Kidzz Helping Kidzz through the eyes of the young people who help lead our work.
Opportunities like these are an important part of what youth leadership looks like at Kidzz Helping Kidzz. Our Advisory Board members are learning to speak confidently in front of community leaders, share their ideas, tell the story of an organization they care about, and represent the young people who are impacted by our work.
We are incredibly proud of the way they continue to step up, speak out, and lead.
The Big Toy Drive Is Just Around the Corner
Our 2026 Toy Drive is getting closer, and our youth and volunteers are getting ready for another busy holiday season. This year, our goal is to collect at least 10,000 new toys for children spending time in hospitals throughout the Puget Sound area.
Our partnership with St. Michael Medical Center is especially meaningful. We provide enough Kidzz Helping Kidzz toys to ensure that every child who comes through the Emergency Department throughout the year has the opportunity to receive a new toy. For a child who may be scared, uncomfortable, or having a particularly difficult day, being able to choose a toy can provide a welcome moment of comfort and distraction.
Our toys also go to children spending time in the hospital, visiting emergency departments and outpatient clinics at the other five hospitals we serve.
There is still plenty to do before the toys make their way to the hospitals, and our youth are ready for the challenge. From collecting and sorting donations to organizing thousands of toys for delivery, there is no shortage of work behind the scenes. It is a big job, but our kids know that every toy represents a little bit of joy for another child.
Behind Every Toy Is a Community
A toy drive may look simple from the outside, but behind every toy is a whole team of people.
It’s the person who buys the toy.
The business or school that hosts a collection box.
The volunteer who picks up a full box.
The kids who sort and organize thousands of donations.
The youth and adult volunteers who help prepare everything for delivery.
The hospital staff who make sure the toys reach children.
And our community partners who provide the space and resources that allow all of this to happen.
We are especially grateful to St. Michael Medical Center and United Moving and Storage for providing warehouse and storage space this year. Their generosity makes an enormous difference in our ability to manage and grow our programs.
Your Financial Support Makes Our Work Possible
While most of the toys and food we distribute are donated, financial support is what helps our youth turn those generous donations into meaningful service.
Financial gifts help provide the resources we need to collect, organize, transport, and distribute thousands of donated toys and pounds of food throughout our community. They help cover the cost of collection boxes and other supplies, U-Haul rentals, handcarts and wagons for moving large volumes of donations, volunteer coordination, distribution expenses, and the many other behind-the-scenes needs that make our programs possible.
Your support also helps create opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills through hands-on service. When our youth are sorting thousands of toys, organizing food drives, coordinating volunteers, speaking to community groups, or helping prepare deliveries, they are learning that they have the ability to identify needs, solve problems, work together, and create positive change.
Would you consider making a year-end gift to Kidzz Helping Kidzz?
Your financial support helps provide the resources our young volunteers need to lead these efforts, serve more children and families, and continue strengthening our community through acts of kindness.
Whether you have supported Kidzz Helping Kidzz in the past or are just discovering our organization, thank you for considering being part of our work. Every gift, no matter the size, helps our youth turn kindness into action.
Kidzz Helping Kidzz is Looking Ahead
As we move into the final months of the year, there is a lot happening at Kidzz Helping Kidzz.
The toy collection boxes are heading into the community. Donations are arriving at the warehouse. Our youth are preparing for another busy season of volunteering and leadership. And our community of supporters continues to grow.
We started Kidzz Helping Kidzz because we wanted to help kids facing difficult circumstances feel a little more hope, joy, and comfort.
Now, a decade later, our youth are still showing us just how much can happen when kids are given the opportunity to lead.
Thank you for being part of the Kidzz Helping Kidzz community and for helping our young people turn kindness into action.
We can’t wait to see what the rest of 2026 brings!
With heartfelt gratitude,
Kidzz Helping Kidzz Youth Advisory Board
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