Four steps, repeated every December for over a decade. Simple on purpose.
1Donate
The campaign runs from late November to mid-December. Friends, family, and their networks chip in from anywhere.
2Purchase
In mid-December we buy toys wholesale in the Belo Horizonte area. Roughly four US dollars becomes a quality doll or soccer ball.
3Document
Every purchase is backed by an official receipt, published for anyone to see. The full paper trail is on the Transparency page.
4Deliver
On Christmas morning the motorcade rolls at 10 a.m. and volunteers hand every toy directly to a child.
Why wholesale in Brazil
Buying in the US and shipping would waste most of every donation. Buying wholesale in Contagem and Belo Horizonte turns a $20 gift into five real presents: dolls, soccer balls, trucks, and games. In recent years that has meant 1,000 to 1,300 quality toys from roughly $4,000 raised.
The toys are only half the day. Local volunteers separately collect food staples (cestas básicas) and clothing for families along the route, organized and funded in Brazil, never from campaign money.
