NORCO, La (WGNO) — Amber Dillenkoffer hosted her second “Amber’s Reason for the Season” toy giveaway Saturday.
The 19-year-old has been collecting toys around the holidays since she was 12. The past two years, Dat Dads’ Club of Luling was there to help.
“We feed off her excitement,” Club member Claude Adams said. “[Dillenkoffer] organizes this, puts it together and gives back to her community. With somebody at that age, it doesn’t happen very often. So, we love supporting her.”
For Dillenkoffer’s first try in 2015, she collected 127 toys. This year, she collected 1,057 and was able to distribute over 700 of them Saturday.
“To see a line out the door, it’s very heartwarming,” Dillenkoffer said. “It’s a proud moment, for sure.”
Dillenkoffer said, she was proud to serve an area that could use a little extra Christmas cheer after an EF-2 tornado tore through St. Charles Parish, killing one woman Wednesday.
“We started [Dat Dads’ Club]. We’re just some dads that live in Luling,” Adams said. “To give back to the people that really need it, it really helps us sleep better at night.”
Dat Dads’ Club is a United Way partner. United Way of Southeast Louisiana already launched a donation fund for tornado survivors.
Dillenkoffer and her volunteers believe the holiday giveaway could not have come at a better time in 2022. They plan to distribute the remaining toys to other tornado survivors before the end of the year.
“A lot of work goes in,” Dillenkoffer said. “So, it’s really good to see that it all pays off and its going to people who really need it and are going to smile because of it.”