Walmart, Salvation Army partner to 'Fill the Truck'

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart and the Salvation Army on Tuesday announced the second annual "Fill the Truck" toy drive, which will help bring toys to thousands of children. The toy drive begins Nov. 29 through Dec. 15 on select weekends in 1,600 stores across the country.



"The holidays are a time for gifting, and a time for giving," Scott McCall, senior vice president of toys and seasonal at Walmart U.S. said. "We think every child should have something under their Christmas tree. Our hope is that the Fill the Truck toy drive will help bring holiday cheer to hundreds of thousands of children across the country."



The toy drive is part of Walmart's long-standing partnership with the Salvation Army.



"Walmart has been such a big supporter of The Salvation Army and we are so appreciative of all the hard work they put into Fill the Truck," Major Ron Busroe, national community relations and development secretary for The Salvation Army said. "This year, Fill the Truck is reaching even more customers and our hope is to provide more children with a Christmas toy that they would not receive otherwise."



This year, the Walmart Foundation donated $1 million dollars to the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign, which will be applied to Salvation Army feeding programs across the nation. Additionally, Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs will host the Salvation Army's red kettles and bell ringers between Nov.29 and Dec. 24, 2013. All donations made to the red kettles stay in the local communities that they're collected in and will help the Salvation Army to provide food, clothing, shelter and other services to around 30 million people this year.