MAITLAND, Fla. — The annual Baby DJ toy drive collects enough toys for a couple thousand Central Florida families in need and volunteers like Christina Kadinger take time off from work each year, just so they can be a part of it. 

What You Need To Know

  • Baby DJ toy drive serves thousands of Central Florida families

  • Volunteers help collect, sort and hand out the donated toys

  • Christina Kadinger has been volunteering with Baby DJ for 14 years

She said sometimes she feels like one of Santa’s little helpers. And with all her years of experience volunteering with Baby DJ, you probably couldn't find anyone more qualified to work at the North Pole.

“At least 14 years I think? I’ve lost track,” she said when recounting how long she has volunteered with the organization.

She and the other volunteers sort through thousands of donated toys so children of all shapes and sizes can get presents this holiday season. Once they sort them all, parents come in and pick out the right toys for their kids.

“It’s just really cool to see a parent’s face when when they know they found something that their kid wants," Kadinger said. "It’s definitely touching, every year I cry a few times."

And that joy she sees in families is what keeps her coming back year after year.

In fact, the only year she hasn’t volunteered was when she had to get brain surgery for a tumor four years ago.

“And I had surgery a couple days after Baby DJ started, so I wasn’t able to participate," she said. "That was hard, missing a full year of this, it was really, really tough."

But she would have never had this opportunity in the first place without the voice of Orlando DJ Johnny Magic. He started this toy drive 30 years ago.

He said back then he had no idea it would become the holiday event it is today.

“First couple years, we were only able to help a couple, and this year we’ll be helping ... 1,800 to 2,000 families in Central Florida, it’s really grown,” Magic said. 

To donate or for more information, you can visit babydj.org.