by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Cars were not the only hot item on the Claremont Toyota lot Sunday. More than 340 children from Claremont and surrounding communities were invited to choose a new toy at the dealership’s inaugural toy giveaway event.

Kids came from Claremont, Pomona, and Ontario-Montclair school districts, and from foster and shelter care programs.

“I’ll tell you the way it started was I was one of these children,” said Jane D’Amelio, director of philanthropy and strategic partnerships for Claremont Toyota. “I was in a shelter off and on from 2 years old to 18 years. I empathize with them. I was them, you know? I’m not just some person that, ‘I do good at work and I make good money so I want to give back.’ I don’t do it for any other reason than change in the future of these children. I was one of those children.”

(L-R) Mia Galvan of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps of Ontario shows Mia Shen, 10, a toy at Sunday’s Claremont Toyota toy giveaway. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

D’Amelio said she hoped the event would both help needy families and model volunteerism for at-risk youth.

“I’ve been doing or hosting toy drives for over 20 years and we always get the toys to the charity partner, but we don’t get to meet the kids and see the end user and meet the families, said D’Amelio. “I’ve been covering this location for a couple years now, so I wanted to do something to give back to the immediate community. I wanted to meet the children, meet the families.”

“It’s an affordable way to get to know our people in our community,” said Rubi Roman of Upland. “It’s helpful because we’re able to bring our [three] girls and they’re able to pick out a toy. Our girls are on the spectrum and so they’re not verbal with, ‘Oh, I want this, I want that.’ It’s easier for them to see and then they were able to grab which toy they each wanted … and thankfully they had something for all of them.”

Nearly all toy donations came from Toyota customers and dealership partners. The event also included photos with Santa and actor Noel Gugliemi, a crafting station, and a children’s raffle.

The Claremont Police Department, Claremont Police Foundation, and the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps of Ontario helped distribute toys. The hope that law enforcement presence would help quell the notion that police are unapproachable, D’Amelio said.