Celebrating 30 Years of Spirit of the Holidays

Acenda is celebrating 30 years of our annual Spirit of the Holidays toy drive! Starting in 1995, Audrey Frank, an Acenda Family Outreach worker, began collecting toys to distribute to children in Acenda’s programs. Since then, Acenda has gifted toys to more than 25,000 children, growing to serve families throughout New Jersey and spreading joy and holiday magic to everyone involved.

History of Spirit of the Holidays

Acenda’s Spirit of the Holidays toy drive began in 1995 as Santa’s Workshop. The fundraiser served just 100 children that year. Over the past three decades, the program has grown to serve more than 1,000 children each year, gifting more than 90,000 toys since its humble beginnings.

While the program became Spirit of the Holidays in 2019, the mission has stayed true to Audrey Frank’s original plan: to empower local families during the holiday season.

How We’re Celebrating 30 Years

With 30 years of giving under our belt, we want to make this year’s Spirit of the Holidays the best one yet. We’ve partnered with Heritage’s Dairy Stores to collaborate on a Round Up campaign, where all Heritage’s customers have the opportunity to round up their purchase to the nearest dollar, sending the change to support Spirit of the Holidays. All 32 locations throughout South Jersey will also be collecting new and unwrapped toy donations in store.

We’re also offering our supporters the opportunity to make monetary donations online or have toys shipped directly to our headquarters in Glassboro, NJ. All donations will go directly to supporting the children and families we serve this holiday season.