Leeds Cruising for Toys Was a Huge Success for Charity!
Leeds Cruising for Toys Was a Huge Success for Charity! Hundreds of people headed to downtown historic Leeds for the Cruising for Toys charity event on Saturday. Antique cars, trucks and bikes drove in to sport their rides all along Parkway Drive in the spirit of the holidays to provide toys for needy children this Christmas. The event was the brain child of Chris & Christy McCombs of C & C Motor Company who truly have a heartbeat for children. Chris approached the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce with the idea. Chamber leaders latched hold of the concept and partnered with the McCombs, the City of Leeds and local businesses to create a festival and Christmas Open House to bring people to Leeds and provide for the charity.
Over one hundred cars cruised in with their owners who came out for a fun afternoon together to show off their rides and bring their gifts. Hundreds of toys were presented and over $3500 was raised for the cause. One particular individual brought 101 toys to donate and organizations like the new Young Professionals Leeds Area had collected toys to present at the event.
For each unwrapped toy, gifters were entered into a contest to win $500 cash. The McCombs donated the cash to encourage people to bring in toys. At 5:00 p.m., people stood in the streets to see if their names might be called. Jacob Meyer with Hommati was the grand prize cash giveaway winner who immediately donated the money back to the charity. Other door prizes were awarded that included gift certificates from Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce for recipients to shop with local retailers. A Matco tool chest was donated, awarded, auctioned and a large portion of those proceeds were donated to the charity as well.
Local businesses were open to offer shoppers great deals to kick off the holiday shopping season with a Christmas Open House. Street vendors and food trucks lined the streets. Businesses offered hot chocolate and refreshments to welcome people to Leeds.
A parade of cars led by Leeds High School Band filled Parkway Drive from 6th Street to 9th Street leading up to the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. Mayor Pro-Tem Kenneth Washington welcomed everyone to Leeds from the gazebo and lit the tree. The band and majorettes performed holiday music while crowds stood around, enjoyed the festivities, took selfies around the Christmas tree while Santa met children to get their Christmas lists and a quick selfie with Santa.
It was a wonderful afternoon and evening of “community” in this wonderful little town just minutes from Birmingham. People came from all over to enjoy the day together. One man, Peter Leeds from Cincinnati, happened to visit Leeds and was able to plug into the excitement. He visited Leeds while he was in Alabama because his last name was Leeds. Peter mentioned that there were 17 cities in the US named Leeds and was especially interested in Leeds, Alabama as the City of Valor, because his wife’s name was Valerie. Peter was driving his bicycle through town exploring Leeds when he found the cruise-in charity event underway which demonstrated the wonderful, giving spirit of the people in this incredible Leeds city.
Leeds Cruising for Toys – a Cruise-in with a Cause was a huge success in collecting hundreds of toys and monetary donations through vehicle owners, individuals, street vendor fees and corporate sponsorships. All proceeds will go to Leeds Outreach who will administer the toys and donations to needy families and children this Christmas.
Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce would like to thank Chris & Christy McCombs (C & C Motor Company), the City of Leeds, Leeds Water Works Board, Rails & Ales, Whataburger, all volunteers, all individuals who brought their vehicles, all street vendors and food trucks, local businesses who participated to make Leeds Cruising for Toys a success.
For more information about this event or the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce, visit www.LeedsAreaChamber.com or contact Sandra McGuire at (205) 699-5001.
Photos courtesy of Dona Bonnett.