Van donated for Toys for Tots
Published 9:04 pm Monday, November 23, 2015
![From left, Eley Duke, vice president of Duke Automotive, and John Woleben and Margie Wiley, local Toys for Tots coordinators, show off the van donated by Duke to help with toy collections.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/11/IMG_0286.jpg)
From left, Eley Duke, vice president of Duke Automotive, and John Woleben and Margie Wiley, local Toys for Tots coordinators, show off the van donated by Duke to help with toy collections.
Christmas cheer will be driving down a street near you this year, with Duke Automotive having donated a van for the local Toys for Tots coordinators to use for the holiday season.
This is the fifth year for the dealership donating the van. Eley Duke, vice president of the dealership, said he got the idea when he saw John Woleben, local Toys for Tots coordinator, driving around in a sedan to collect toys.
“He could only get one or two boxes of toys in there,” Duke said.
That was in 2010. The next year, Duke called Woleben in November and asked him to come to the dealership, where he had a van emblazoned with the Toys for Tots logo waiting.
“He was like a kid at Christmas,” Duke said. “It was just so they were able to do more.”
It wasn’t a surprise this year, but Woleben is no less grateful for the gesture. Duke provided a new 2015 Chevrolet City Express. Major Signs donated their services to put the Toys for Tots logo on the van. Some additional wording has also been added for some extra cheer this year: “Spread the Joy of Christmas.”
“We put the Toys for Tots on there to spread some awareness for the program,” Duke said.