NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Responders Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports children of first responders and their families, delivered over $200,000 worth of holiday toys to The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to be distributed as part of their annual Dream Tree for Kids event. The Foundation, which is a longtime partner of Greenbrier, used its Toy Express to support the resort’s continuing efforts to serve needy children in the community. Dream Tree for Kids was started in 2011 by the Justice family, which owns the resort, as a means to give toys to children across the state and region who would otherwise go without for the holidays. Each year $1 million worth of toys are distributed, and this year the First Responders Children’s Foundation was proud to be a significant contributor.

“Thank you to the Justice family for their yearlong efforts in supporting their community, said Jillian Crane, President of First Responders Children’s Foundation. “We’re proud to continue to support The Greenbrier’s work with helping local children, and we look forward to being a part of the Dream Tree for years to come.”

First Responders Children’s Foundation established the Toy Express with a generous toy donation worth more than $3,500,000 in retail value from Mattel and American Girl including 5,000 signature 18” American Girl dolls and more than 45,000 in other Mattel products such as Hot Wheels^®, Barbie^® and Mega Bloks^®. Additional sponsors include CSX, Good360, Hess Toy Truck, Jakks Pacific, MaskUSA.com, and Toys for Tots. In addition, generous individuals across the nation are helping bring holiday cheer to first responder families by making donations of toys and money. Transportation of toys and masks across the country is coordinated and provided by Total Quality Logistics (TQL) and their Moves that Matter program.

By the end of the holiday season, First Responders Children’s Foundation’s Toy Express will have delivered almost 250,000 free toys and masks through various COVID-safe events throughout the country.

An Electronic Press Kit can be accessed here.

First Responders Children’s Foundation began in the wake of 9/11 when Founder and Chairman, Alfred R. Kahn, hosted the first annual Thanksgiving Day Parade Breakfast just weeks after the 9/11 attacks. That year, more than 800 children and family members of first responders lost in the line of duty were invited to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade from private, front-row viewing which began an annual tradition of welcoming devastated first responder families into a supportive environment to face the challenges of the start of a holiday season without a loved one. 19 years later, the Foundation continues to support the families of first responders across the country with critical assistance including college scholarships and financial grants including paying for funeral bills of first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their community. During the 2020 pandemic, the Foundation has assisted more than 677,638 first responders through its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. This holiday season, First Responders Children’s Foundation’s Toy Express will help provide cheer and happiness to children and families of first responders. Media assets for Toy Express can be found at https://1strcf.org/toy-express/.

Media Contact:
Joanna Black
+1 (646) 912-2681
Joanna@1stRCF.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/374a74db-250f-4537-bddf-13efbd013f80

Toy Express Riverbank Park

Toy Express Riverbank Park kids receiving toys