SAN ANTONIO — Thousands of dollars worth of Christmas cheer — gone in an instant.
Last month, 20 boxes filled with holiday toys for sick children were stolen from a storage unit.
The non-profit B.I.G. Love Cancer Care spent months collecting these donations.
With Christmas inching closer, they found themselves back at square one.
This was the second break-in the non-profit experienced this year. The first happened in Austin.
This theft, employees said, was particularly painful because 80% of the families they serve are low income.
When members of VFW Post 1533 heard what happened, they saw it as another chance to serve.
Veterans of the VFW Post 1533 cleared their parking lot Friday afternoon, save three large gift boxes.
"After we heard that they were in dire need for toys for the children, we said, yeah we can do it!" said Gilbert DeLeon, Commander of VFW Post 1533.
DeLeon said one of their members knows an employee of B.I.G. Love Cancer Care. After they heard the news about the theft, they immediately pitched the idea of hosting their own toy drive.
They're hoping each gift will bring joy to families during the most challenging times of their lives.
"Any time the community needs help, we're here for them," said DeLeon.
October 17, is when B.I.G. Love Cancer Care made the heartbreaking discovery. Someone broke into their storage unit that was filled to the brim with Christmas toys and took them all.
"Opening that [storage unit door], my heart sunk. Immediately I was like, what am I going to do now?" said Amber Woodworth, San Antonio Program Coordinator for B.I.G. Love.
The non-profit worked all year to collect the gifts for their Holiday Shoppe. There, parents of children with cancer can get their Christmas gifts at no cost.
With no time to waste, the VFW community answered the call.
Friday, car after car dropped gifts in the bins.
"A lot of kids don't get presents. They feel bad and they'll start to cry!" said Maria Reyna, who we met during her second donation trip to VFW 1533.
Reyna and her husband, Pedro, belong to VFW Post 9174. Reyna said she returned a second time after seeing that the bins weren't as full as she would like.
"We picked out girl stuff and boy stuff," said Reyna. "Some little stuffed animals, Mickey and Minnie."
44% of families served by B.I.G. Love Cancer Care are single-parent households and 55% experience a loss of income due to cancer treatments.
"I have healthy grandchildren, and I couldn't even imagine. We used to do St. Jude," said Leticia Cipriano, who heard about the toy drive on the news and dropped off gifts Friday. "We love to donate —especially to the children."
For those interested in donating, items are being collected for recipients up to 25 years old. Clothing donations are also welcome.
The donation drive continues through this weekend. The drop off spot is VFW Post 1533, located at 107 Elmhurst Avenue. Feel free to drop off toys or monetary donations any time during their business hours, which is 3 p.m. to midnight daily.
All gifts will be delivered to B.I.G. Love at the beginning of next week.
VFW Post 1533 is also hosting a coat drive for the homeless through mid-December. You can drop off any new or gently used coats to the same location.