General News
3 December, 2024
Toy drive shifts into gear
Carz and Coffee Maryborough are starting their engines on a new event driven to give more local children a merry Christmas.
The inaugural Christmas Toy Drive aims to support the festive efforts of the Maryborough Salvation Army and Carisbrook Lions Club through the love of vintage cars.
Founded in 2020, Carz and Coffee is a social club for car enthusiasts to meet every second Sunday at the Maryborough Railway Station and showcase their rides over food and drink.
As part of their December gathering this Sunday, the group invites residents to catch a glimpse of their collection and donate new, unwrapped toys to be collected by the Salvo’s.
At 11 am, an array of classic vehicles will parade through the streets of Maryborough on their way to the local Salvo’s Corps for a fundraising barbecue, with proceeds supporting the Lions club’s Christmas With Us event.
Event organiser Kelly Aitken said “it just felt like a no-brainer” to assist two highly respected community groups during their busiest time.
“This is open to the whole community, anyone can just come down, buy a coffee, have a look, bring a toy, or just enjoy the day,” she said.
“The Salvation Army and the Carisbrook Lions Club are organisations that have strong roots in the community and are always doing great things.
“Everyone is doing it tough at the moment so if you can give a $10 toy, that makes a big difference for a local kid.
“Christmas With Us is such a huge thing for so many people who have no one to spend Christmas with or can’t afford it and it’s so beautiful.”
Since joining the group after moving to Maryborough two years ago, Ms Aitken said the monthly meets have become a great social avenue for her to meet car enthusiasts far and wide.
“Carz and Coffee has been going for about four years and over time it has just grown to over 2000 followers on the Facebook page and people come from everywhere,” she said.
“It’s very thrilling when you are there and you see all the cars coming and it’s open to everyone.
“We had another lady who joined our last meet and she said how one of our Holden’s was her youth and brought back so many memories for her.
“I just think it’s nice for people because we are all different ages, our youngest member is 15 and he’s grown up with cars and loves the colours and sounds.”
The Carz and Coffee Maryborough’s Christmas Toy Drive is on this Sunday, December 8 at the Maryborough Railway Station starting at 9.30 am.
For more information, visit the Carz and Coffee Facebook page.