BEAVERTON, OR (BRAIN) — Yakima is getting behind an annual Portland-area toy drive by providing area outdoor companies with Yakima cargo boxes to fill with outdoor-related toys. The companies can keep the boxes and are being encouraged to raffle them off as an incentive for employees to contribute gifts.
Yakima's goal is to collect more than 1,000 outdoor-related toys for the KGW Portland Great Toy Drive, which has been operated for 30 years by Portland TV station KGW.
The company has delivered its SkyBox Pro 16 cargo boxes to area companies including adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Icebreaker, KEEN, Nutcase Helmets and OIA Global, plus the Portland State University Athletic and Outdoor Industry Program.
Yakima will collect the gifts from the participating companies and deliver them to KGW on Friday, Dec. 13. The toy drive typically yields more than 60,000 gifts for approximately 120 non-profits across the region.
“We are proud that the Portland outdoor industry has come together to support this important toy drive,” said Summer Henderson, Yakima's global marketing manager. “In recent years there has been a significant decrease in athletic and outdoor activity amongst today’s youth. Over 80 percent of children spend an average of three or more hours watching television daily. We think that receiving a soccer ball, hula hoop, or bug-collecting kit will inspire kids to leave their screens and get outside ... which is the greatest gift we can give children this holiday season.”
Added Henderson, “This is a great way for Yakima and the outdoor industry to become involved in our own backyard, and we can’t wait for the kids to get their presents and get into their own backyards.”
