Thousands of kids ranging from toddlers to teens in the Miami area received new toys Saturday as part of the 28th Annual Christmas Smiles Project Toy Drive.
Many of them come from underprivileged immigrant families, and over the weekend, their faces lit up when they saw a room full of toys at the Caribbean K-8 Center in Cutler Bay.
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WATCH HEREFor some, Christmas came early this year.
"The principal was saying that there's been a line since before 7 o'clock this morning outside," Samantha Rey said.
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Over 100 volunteers on Saturday made more than 1,000 kids smile as they walked into a room full of all kinds of popular toys.
"Every year it gets bigger and bigger, we get more and more kids, so we're committed to, like, the school but then it gets around in the neighborhood so you have more kids show up as the time goes on," 18-year-old Rey said.
The high school senior helped organize this year's annual toy drive, taking over the initiative her mother started, at the exact same age 28 years ago.
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"My best friend and I had graduated from St. Brendan and we went to Dadeland (mall) and there was an angel tree and we got some kids from the angel tree, and bought some toys and then we started talking and said 'Oh, we could collect a little bit more, let's do something,'" Rosemarie Rey said.
That was back in 1997. Through the power of word of mouth, she said the initiative she and her friend Andrea Lopez once started is still going strong.
"Throughout the years we've gone through different schools, we have the help of Mary Blanco...a school board member, and she's guided us also to the schools that are most in need," Rosemarie Rey said.
Her daughter said since she was a baby, she grew up watching her family give back every year.
"We would have, like, boxes and boxes at my house and as a little girl you see cool toys and you want them, but I always knew they were for these kids," she said.
And now that the torch has been passed on to her, many underprivileged kids will have a "Christmas smile" on their faces this holiday season.
"Everybody thinks like, 'Wow, you're impacting these kids' lives so much,' but I think they're impacting ours more," she added.
The project became an official nonprofit in 2023 and has other drives throughout the year. Organizers told NBC 6 they also give back to those in need in other countries. If you wish to donate or volunteer, click here for more.
