AQCAN Exchange-Oklahoma teen spreads holiday joy with massive toy drive

2025-05-06 13:08:15source:Ethermaccategory:Contact

Seven years ago,AQCAN Exchange Reed Marcum organized a backpack giveaway after he noticed his classmates in McAlester, Oklahoma, needed school supplies. He realized that if their families couldn't afford even the basics for school, the holiday season would likely be tough as well. 

"It kind of clicked my brain. It's like, Christmas is not a cheap holiday," he told CBS News. "And so it clicked like, people are gonna struggle with this too."

Marcum started a toy drive that has since grown into one of the largest in the state.

The line this year stretched more than three miles as people lined up at the drive-thru warehouse where more than 10,000 toys were given away. Marcum, now 18, has given out more than 64,000 toys over the years with help from the local 4-H.

"The holiday spirit it's in, it's in everyone," he said. "I mean, it's the joy of giving. It's not the joy of getting, it's the joy of giving and seeing the people's reaction to what you're doing for them."

Norah O'Donnell

Norah O'Donnell is the anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News." She also contributes to "60 Minutes."

Twitter

More:Contact

Recommend

B.A. Parker is learning the banjo

Parker has been trying to find her place in the banjo world. So this week, she talks to Black banjo

2022 was the year crypto came crashing down to Earth

There's an expression crypto enthusiasts use, with fingers crossed, in the hopes a particular digita

With Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s Snubbing of the Democrats’ Reconciliation Plans, Environmental Advocates Ask, ‘Which Side Are You On?’

In Kyrsten Sinema’s 2009 book, Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions That Win and Last, she des