WRIGHTSTOWN (NBC 26) — An annual toy drive is hoping to bring in hundreds of toys for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin this holiday season.
Pay it Forward for Crew is hosting its third annual toy drive and is seeking donations.
Kevin Liebergen and his wife Nicki are the duo behind the annual toy drive. It's their way it’s their way of spreading joy… but the inspiration for the toy drive came during one of the most painful periods of their lives.
In 2020, Kevin and Nicki lost their baby during their 20 week ultrasound, a baby boy they had named Crew.
It was devastating for the couple and the two were searching for ways to cope. Nicki says one thing that helped was being open about it.
“For me talking about it and being open about it is huge," Nicki said. "It's something that obviously people don’t want to have to experience and being open for us has been a healing process.”
“Losing a child at twenty weeks, you know you’re halfway done with the pregnancy and you think this child is coming home soon and they’re not," Kevin said. "Something just didn’t sit right in me that he couldn’t be on this world with us to make it a better place.”
That’s when Kevin started Pay it Forward for Crew as a movement to encourage acts of kindness. Then a friend suggested they start a toy drive.
Last year their goal was to collect 500 toys. They surpassed that goal with a grand total of 536. This time around, their goal is 750 toys. The couple says doing the toy drive every year has turned their pain into purpose.
“In the process we’ve realized so many other women have gone through what we’ve gone through and just that as support just makes it easier," Nicki said.
“We’re not the only ones who lost a baby, lots of people go through this and this is in honor of all those babies who didn’t make it and can’t be here," Kevin said.
Th couple asks that you visit their Amazon wish list, add items from that list to your shopping cart, and select "Pay it Forward for Crew" as the address so the toys will be delivered directly to them. You can also contact them for a personal dropoff. Pay it Forward for Crew will also be hosting a visit with Santa this Sunday at The DINER at 3011 W Wisconsin Ave in Appleton where donations can be dropped off as well.
Children's Wisconsin has a list of items you can, and also cannot, donate.
