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12/21/12KGW NewsChannel 8 wraps up Historic KGW Great Toy Drive
Belo station collects record number of toys for needy children
PORTLAND, OR - Portland’s premiere toy collection effort, the KGW Great Toy Drive, ended this week with bands playing, the Portland Police helping manage the traffic on Jefferson street leading to the station, and an outpouring of community support to collect and distribute a record number of toys to needy children throughout the area.
The KGW Great Toy Drive is an annual event that the station has championed for over 30 years.
This year’s number of toys collected was estimated at over 60,000. So many toys were donated that the KGW studio was packed to capacity with the station’s lobby and hallways pressed into service to accommodate bicycles, games and stuffed animals. More than 100 non-profit organizations throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington came to the KGW NewsChannel 8 studios to receive the donations. The non-profits then distribute the toys to area families.
Sponsors Regence, Wells Fargo, and the local Toyota Dealers collected toys at their locations and provided hundreds of volunteers to help make the campaign a success. For the first time, KGW NewsChannel 8 also invited small businesses to join the campaign as well by collecting toys in their offices and stores. Over 450 businesses participated.
“Every year we are amazed at the generosity of our community in helping others. This year is especially meaningful in light of the terrible tragedies both here at home and in Connecticut. We are reminded that life is precious, and the importance of giving back to your community,” said DJ Wilson, president and general manager of the KGW Media Group. “We are so grateful for the ongoing commitment we receive from our sponsors, Regence, Wells Fargo, and the local Toyota Dealers. They are as invested in the importance of the KGW Great Toy Drive as much as we are.”
“We were also moved by the number of small businesses who joined in this year as well, far exceeding our expectation,” Ms. Wilson added. “Thank you to everyone who donated a toy to help put a smile on a child’s face.”
To view a 30 second compilation of collection day with a time-lapse of the mountain of toys, click here.
About Belo Corp.
KGW is part of Belo Corp. (BLC), one of the nation’s largest pure-play, publicly-traded television companies, that owns and operates 20 television stations (nine in the top 25 markets) and their associated Web sites. Belo stations, which include affiliations with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV, reach more than 14 percent of U.S. television households in 15 highly-attractive markets. Belo stations rank first or second in nearly all of their local markets. Additional information is available at www.belo.com or by contacting Brenda Buratti, Director of Programming and Creative Services, KGW, at 503-226-5130
KGW NewsChannel 8 - - - Where The News Comes First!
1501 S.W. Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon 97201
And the KGW Studio on the Square
