The Direct Selling Association helped kick off the 19th Annual TODAY Show Holiday Toy and Gift Drive recently by presenting the direct selling industry’s donation live in Rockefeller Plaza.
Twenty-one direct selling companies donated a total of nearly $17 million in products and cash to the toy drive. In its nine years of participation, DSA member companies have donated more than $100 million in products, services and cash to the project.
Participating companies donated items from books, stuffed animals and fashion accessories to clothing and toiletries for children and families across the country.
“The TODAY Show Holiday Gift Drive is just one example each year of how direct selling serves as a force for good in our communities, across the country and throughout the world,” said Amy Robinson, DSA’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Every day, direct sellers help others achieve their goals through the products and opportunities they offer, but their involvement in charitable and philanthropic activities reinforces the positive impact direct selling has on millions of lives each year.”
The TODAY Show Toy Drive is a project of the Today Show Charitable Foundation Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Another way the direct selling industry gives back to those less fortunate during the holidays is through the Pack a Present Toy Drive hosted by the Direct Selling Education Foundation. Attendees for the DSA’s Communications & Marketing Conference in December were encouraged to participate in the drive by bringing gifts to the conference to help brighten the holiday for children who are part of the South Bay chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs.
“Now in its third year, DSEF’s Pack a Present event is becoming a December tradition for direct selling company and supplier executives,” said Charlie Orr, DSEF’s Executive Director.
After gifts were collected Boys & Girls Club representatives brought a group of children to the conference hotel for cocoa and cookies with Santa and to receive their presents.
“The holidays can be a tough time for kids in need,” said Tamara Ingram, DSEF’s Community Program Manager. “DSEF’s Pack a Present not only provides a memorable experience for the kids who join us for the event, but it also ensures hundreds of area children will feel the joy of the season.”
