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Northwest Ohioans collecting toys for children in Kentucky to open on Christmas Day

A Toledo couple has taken it upon themselves to make sure the children impacted in Kentucky will have something to open on Christmas Day.

TOLEDO, Ohio — What started out as a mere idea has turned into a drive collecting more than 1,000 toys to be delivered to children affected by deadly tornadoes in Kentucky on Christmas Day.

"What if we went down there," Amanda Oka said. "And I was like, 'Yeah, let's do it.' So my boyfriend made a couple phone calls and here we are."

One of those phone calls was to UAW Local 12 in Toledo. And a week later, the hall is full of donations, ready to make the six-hour drive from northwest Ohio to Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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Mark Buford with the UAW has been the liaison for the American Red Cross for more than 20 years. He said getting people food and shelter are the main focuses after a disaster strikes. 

But it's things like this that take it a step further. 

"This is the warm and fuzzy that happens after that," Buford said. "Because these little kids don't know what's going on. You've seen the destruction - a lot of houses were lost and there's presents and trees and everything else that's got destroyed. So this is going to make a huge difference in these kids and give them some hope for their future."

Oka explained the power of social media has been able to make this happen. She said seeing how many people have stepped up to help those who need it right now is what the season of giving is truly about.

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"The joy, the hope and spreading that love," she said. "And just remembering that we're all in this together."

So what started out as a simple thought one day has turned into giving children in Kentucky a holiday to remember. 

"Santa is going to dress up and we got a sleigh that we're building and putting that on the trailer.," Oka said. "So we're doing the whole nine. We're not holding back."

You can drop off toys until Thursday evening at UAW 12 Local in Toledo, TTG Automation in Temperance, Michigan or the Wood County Sheriff's Office in Bowling Green, Ohio. 

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