San Jose teenager collects, donates 12,000 toys for Christmas

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dozens of crates lined up in front of a warehouse in San Jose, each standing about six feet tall, full of toys. They'll all go home to kids before Christmas.

Cars lined up at the warehouse, driven by parents hoping to take home new gifts for their kids. Heena Birley was in line for her four children.

"6, 4, 3 and 2," she answered when asked their ages.

The event is called Joey's Toy Drive - and Joey Childs is the driver of the operation.

"I'm well aware of struggling families in the Bay Area," he said.

"If I can do something about it, if I can use my abilities to help people, I'm all for it."

Childs is 18 years old. His toy drive is entering its 11th year. He first thought of the idea when he was 7.

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"It's something I'm very passionate about," he said. "I love helping people. I love projects. I love putting things together. I'm good at putting things together."

His parents say they're proud but, mostly, they're impressed.

"He does it all," said Joe, his father. "He contacts the sponsors, he brings them to the stores. Everything is on his own. A lot of the technical stuff we don't really understand."

"Next year he's planning to make it bigger and better," said Sheri, his mother. "I don't see any signs of this ending."

Even after the holidays, Childs and his team still collect toys for the next year. The parents in line couldn't thank him enough.

"It's a big help," said one mother from San Jose, who asked not to share her name.

Childs goes off to college next year. He plans to leave his project to his 16-year-old sister and friends who've helped volunteer over the years.