ASHLAND — When Tyler Slaven and Monica Heath held a toy drive for Nationwide Children’s Hospital for the first time 10 years ago, they had no idea what it’d become.
What began as a service project to mark the only year the siblings would be at Ashland High School together has become an annual event, with toy donations tallying over 100,000 in total. This year’s drive alone brought in 8,638 toys, thanks to donations from across the state.
Those donations went to hospital patients from all 50 states and 45 countries.
Even with the drive’s growth, Slaven said the goal has remained the same: helping children in the hospital during the Christmas season.
“If we can help be a part of that, or help cheer them up or bring a smile to their face during that time, that’s really important,” Slaven said. “I’m sure it’s hard enough to be in the hospital at all at that age, but especially during the Christmas season when they’re used to being home with their families and opening presents.”
A brief history
The sibling pair first hosted the toy drive when they were students at the Ohio Virtual Academy. Both said the academy offered a rigorous curriculum that prepared them well for the future.
Beyond academics, though, they said attending the virtual school gave them connections outside of their hometown of Ashland.
It’s those connections and the diversity of the academy that’s propelled the toy drive to success. With a wide-reaching network, Slaven and Heath said they have donation boxes set up in communities across the state.
Over the years, they’ve encountered folks who donate every year. They refer to those people as their “toy drive family,” and said it’s been neat to make connections across Ohio.
Heath and Slaven also have a handful of donors who’ve stuck out. The pair often recount the story of a young girl they met one year. When she found out the toy drive was for children in the hospital, she handed over all the money in her pocket.
“No donor is too small to make a difference,” Heath said.
The impact
What started out as a small service project has had an impact far larger than Heath and Slaven could’ve originally imagined.
The pair said they plan to continue collecting toys as long as there are still children in the hospital. Slaven said they wanted to emphasize the work of the hospital and staff.
“Nationwide is a hospital that doesn’t just look at the kids as numbers,” Heath said. “They’re kids, and (the staff) love what they do, and they’re good at it.”
Heath added she and Slaven hope their story can serve as inspiration to others.
“Honestly, we really really hope that if anybody else reads this story, that it might inspire at least one person to do something positive and make a difference in their community,” Heath said.
Below are contributed photos from the toy drive distribution.
