"KC UNDERCOVER" STAR KAMIL MCFADDEN TAPPED BY "CASTLE" STAR TAMALA JONES TO CO-CHAIR HOLIDAY STORY READING AND TOY DISTRIBUTION EVENT "JINGLE ALL THE WAY 5" DECEMBER 12TH
buzzz worthy. . .The celebrity story reading and toy distribution initiative returns for a fifth year
Jones Reunites With Actor Hill Harper For "Manifest Your Destiny" Toy Drive; Also Set To Team With Students From Executive Prep Academy of Finance To Deliver Toys To Families In South Los Angeles
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| Kamil McFadden |
As part of a school wide community service initiative the students at Executive Prep Academy of Finance will host their own Jingle All The Way Toy Drive to benefit families in South Los Angeles. Beginning December 1st and continuing through December 18th students will collect toys at their campus to be distributed to programs and shelters in the surrounding area. The students will serve as Santa's Helpers at Harper's event before returning to their campus to distribute toys in their community.
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| Last year, JB Smoove, Tamala Jones, Hill Harper and Holly Robinson Peete read stories to children, distributed toys and played games with youth as a part of Jones' Jingle All The Way 4 and Harper's "Manifest Your Destiny" holiday outreach programs. |
"After the success of last year's event reuniting with Hill and his team made perfect sense," says Dickerson. "However, we are most excited about our youth giveback campaign with Executive Prep and the passion the students have to uplift families in their community at Christmas. It is a reminder of the true reason for the season, which is to spread as much joy as possible."
Last year, Jingle recruited McFadden and a diverse cast of characters to read Dr. Seuss' classic "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" to children and families. Celebrity readers included: Holly Robinson Peete ("Mike & Molly"), Angelique Bates (Nickelodeon's "All That"), Brett Stimely ("Transformers: Dark of the Moon"), Tohoru Masamune ("Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"), Lauren Suthers ("Ascension") and Santana Dempsey("Newsroom"). Hill Harper and JB Smoove, as a part of the Manifest Your Destiny program, arrived to inject a lot of energy and excitement.
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| Sitting in the midst of children Jones delivers an award worthy performance at Jingle 4 (2014). "My face says it all, I was so into it!" added Jones. |
Each year groups around the globe gather toys for needy families at Christmas. Dickerson says he began Jingle All The Way to engage Hollywood in a program to read classic holiday stories to children as they waited, "sometimes for hours," to receive toys collected during Christmas drives. The goal is to make the day memorable for the participating families while at the same time using the event to raise awareness of the need to support under-served communities and families during the holiday season.
"I look forward to working with Hill again this year and teaming with my new partners, the students at Executive Prep, to spread a little more joy this holiday season," says Jones. "I believe we have more fun than the children."
For more information visit about Jingle All The Way and how to donate toys visit www.jingleholidaydrive.com.