What is Jeeps for Joy?

  • Question:
    I've been reading the forums for awhile, and I'll occasionally see mention of Jeeps for Joy, or JfJ. What is that?


    Answer:
    Jeeps for Joy (JfJ), or officially, the Delaware Jeep Association's Jeeps for Joy Memorial Toy Drive, is DeJA's biggest charity event, the main part of which happens on the 2nd Saturday in December each year.




    Question:
    Ok, but what does is it do?


    Answer:
    Volunteers from DeJA work together to set out donation boxes, mostly at businesses that cater to children (daycares are our biggest contributors, but also dance studios, karate studios, or ANY business that will have their employees and/or clients donate new, unwrapped toys). The boxes are set out in the beginning of November and collected a few days before the event. Donations from these boxes, and from DeJA members are pulled together in one location to be delivered to our beneficiaries.




    Question:
    Who benefits from this?


    Answer:
    JfJ has two beneficiaries. The largest is the Nemours/ A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children just off Route 202 in Wilmington. Many children are consistently cared for there for a variety of reasons, and most of us have had, or know a child that has gone there. It is our hope that the donations we collect and deliver there will help relieve some of the emotional and financial stress put on these children and their families during the Holidays. We deliver the donations directly to the hospital on the day of the event in December.


    Our second beneficiary is Children's Choice Foster Care agency, near the Christiana Mall. This organization places children with caring foster families. Unfortunately, many are placed close to the Holidays leaving the foster families unprepared to have gifts for these children. We pull a portion of our donations for Children's Choice and purchase some specifically for them, and they are delivered directly to their office on the Monday after our event. Their employees then wrap and tag the gifts for specific children, and they are given to the children at their annual Holiday Party. For the past few years, DeJA has been the ONLY contributor of gifts for this organization.




    Question:
    Cool, now I'm really excited! How can I get involved?


    Answer:
    The JfJ organizers, who are DeJA members just like you, are always looking for people to either help us with existing donation locations, or suggesting new locations, and providing donation boxes and information to these locations, checking in with the location about mid way through, and then picking up the box and donations and bringing it all to the Toy Drive in December.




    Question:
    Do I get paid for helping?


    Answer:
    No.




    Question:
    Does JfJ have a really cool logo like DeJA has?


    Answer:
    Yes, but ours includes a Jeep AND Santa.




    Question:
    Can I, or a business I am involved with, donate money? And is it tax-deductible?


    Answer:
    Yes. Jeeps for Joy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization. Any donations to us are tax-deductible. Check can be made out to Jeeps for Joy, Inc, and mailed to the address on the JfJ website.
    PayPal donations may also be made to jeepsforjoydonation@gmail.com




    [b]Question:
    If money is donated, what is it used for?


    Answer:
    A number of things, such as insurance to cover our use of the parking lot in Pike Creek Shopping Center where we hold the main event, postage and informational fliers for donation locations, raffle items, and incorporation costs. However the bulk of donated money goes towards buying specific gifts for the children at Childrens Choice based on a "wish list" that they provide for us for each child.




    Question:
    Does JfJ have a website?


    Answer:
    Yes, you can find a history of the event, more information, and pictures of past events at www.jeepsforjoy.org




    Question:
    What do I do next if I want to get involved?


    Answer:
    We normally start planning the event in July or August, and contact past and hopeful donation locations in September by letter, and then a follow-up phone call to see if they can help us this year. Once we have the locations lined up, we'll post on DeJA asking for volunteers to help with the locations. Just keep an eye out for any Toy Drive posts and jump in! An even better way to help out is to ask any friends or family members that either own or work at a business that might be interested in hosting a donation box, and ask them if it is OK for Jeeps for Joy to contact them, and then get us their information.




    Question:
    If I have more questions after reading the JfJ website, or have suggestions about something, is there someone I can call or email?


    Answer:
    Yes. You can send any questions and/or comments to jeepsforjoy@gmail.com, or send a PM on this website to either wanderlust (Paul), or Wolverine (Brian) and we'll do our best to answer any questions and gather information. Contact information is also on the JfJ website.




    Question:
    And you're sure I don't get paid for helping?


    Answer:
    We're sure.




    Question:
    So what DO I get out of helping all of these children have a great Holiday?


    Answer:
    You get a really warm, fuzzy feeling inside by helping all of these children have a great Holiday.


    Thanks for reading!


    Jeeps for Joy, Inc.
    http://www.jeepsforjoy.org

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