After a New Jersey man joked about throwing a party at the self-checkout at his local Walmart, the idea has since evolved into a more generous shindig: a toy drive.
Drew Delgado of Lacey Township, New Jersey, posted an event on Facebook initially meant as a joke, a “Walmart self-checkout Christmas party” at a nearby store.
“Celebrating another successful year of picking, paying, and bagging your own groceries while actual employees just stand around and check receipts,” the event description quips.
But the event, which received 21,000 people responding as “interested”, has since prompted Delgado to turn the joke into an actual event – though he said Walmart has no interest in hosting it.
“While this started as a joke, it has me thinking. What if … I was to organize a big toy drive where we have a Santa Claus and then we all purchase toys from the store, pile them outside and then donate them to whatever children happen to come to the store?” Delgado wrote on the Facebook event page. “I genuinely believe that something good can come from this. Times are tough for a lot of people. I think this would be perfect.”
He contacted the local Elks lodge with the mission to try to set something up to donate to local families in need.
Lacey Elks Lodge in Forked River, New Jersey, agreed to be a drop-off site for a toy drive on the evening of 15 December.
“Should be a nice night for all the right reasons,” the lodge posted about the event, which will include appearances from Santa Claus and Mrs Claus, and vendors, with unwrapped gifts, food, pet food and blankets set up to be donated to local charities.
Nicole Delgado, Drew Delgado’s wife, said that the initial “event was created purely as a joke” and “Andrew thought only a few people would see it and think it was a funny thing.”
“Within only a few days, he had a few thousand interested in coming to the event at Walmart and many asked if we could make it a toy drive,” she explained.
She confirmed that Mark Niro, a member of the Lacey Elks who “runs many events there”, helped her and Drew reserve “space for the 15th at the Elks”.
Nicole added that she and Drew hope to be able to hold this toy drive event annually and have even started Amazon wish lists for those who cannot attend the toy drive in person.
