ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - In this holiday season, Christmas cheer will fill the air with a toy drive event Dec. 15 in Elk Grove.

The eighth annual Toy Drive Event will be from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday,  Dec. 15 at District 56, 8230 Civic Center Drive. 

The event is presented by Community Partners Advocate of Little Saigon Sacramento and the NorCal Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to give toys to children who have so little and to brighten the Christmas season for them, because no child should be without a toy, as the Explore Elk Grove CA website states.

Nikki Nguyen, president of the Community Partners Advocate of Little Saigon Sacramento, said this event involves bringing unwrapped toys to donate to underserved children. The event also provides entertainment for families such as magic shows, other performances, photo opportunities with Santa Claus and food. 

More than 100 volunteers participated in last year’s event, including students from different high schools, according to Nguyen.

“This event is not only fun but it brings the spirit of Christmas and brings a lot of hope and joy,” Nguyen said.

One of the nonprofit organizations receiving the donated toys is the xHope foster organization, which is based in the Sacramento area. Nguyen added that xHope has “a lot of kids from various school districts who are underserved and a school principal could identify who the child is and they could pick a toy.” 

Based on the signups, the need “is so much more” this year, Nguyen said.

Vivian Vu, vice-president of the Community Partners Advocate of Little Saigon Sacramento, said that last year’s event had a good turnout and included local politicians. Last year’s goal was to hit 500 toy donations, Vu said, and this year’s goal is for 1,000 toys. 

“It was really fun to be a part of the community and bring joy to it,” Vu said. “Even the politicians said it was one of their favorite events to attend and be a part of during the year. It means a lot to hear them say that.”

Students have previously performed at the event, including singers, a saxophonist and martial artists doing a kung fu show. 

“Hopefully for this year’s event, we will have a bigger turnout,” Vu said.