unified%20efforts%20copy-550?v=1

Giving Joy with a Toy

The Power of One Foundation rallies for kids and families with their first annual toy drive.

Since March 2020, we have witnessed communities coming together to care for each other in incredible ways. This can and must continue. Power of One Foundation (POOF), along with our incredible partners, sponsors, supporters, and volunteers has provided for 1.5 million individuals in the Orange County area with food assistance and other needed resources to underserved communities regardless of country of origin, race, gender, or socioeconomic status.

Shawnee Witt, Co-Founder, and Vice-Chair states, “We believe hunger is a massive and growing concern that needs to be met while simultaneously taking precautions to slow the spread of Covid-19.” Andre Roberson, Co-Founder and Chairman emphasizes, “We will continue to stay on the front lines to provide direct assistance to thousands of affected members of our community weekly to ensure families and children are not going without.”

Power of One Foundation was founded on the shoulders of a family-run nonprofit organization called Official No One Left Behind (ONOLB) run by three generations – grandmother, mother, and grandson – to serve the community at the most local level: their own neighborhood in Santa Ana. Andre was raised in the heart of Santa Ana; he grew up on the same streets that were filled with cars lined up for over five miles to attend a food distribution at a little charter school on 1st and Fairview – Magnolia Science Academy – on March 21, 2020. Andre knew this new pandemic was going to change things, but what he didn’t know is how much or how quickly the need for food assistance would grow. 

Seven years ago, Shawnee Witt started working with Andre and his family with ONOLB. After several years of working alongside Andre, his mom, and grandma, Shawnee became a board member and secretary of ONOLB. Andre and Shawnee worked closely together and decided to create a sister foundation that could expand their reach and grow in other directions, which they did in 2019 as Power of One Foundation. While ONOLB operated on a local SoCal level, POOF has become a producing partner of large-scale events and programs such as drive-thru food distributions at the OC Fair (up to 5500 cars in a 4-hour window) and Curbside Pickup at IKEA Costa Mesa. 

The holiday season tends to be the worst time of the year for families struggling financially to provide gifts for their loved ones, especially their little ones. POOF’s goal is simple - put a smile on the faces of children during Christmas by putting toys in their trunks and leaving a lasting impression in their hearts. Power of One Foundation is collecting both personal and corporate toy donations through December 20th to build up for POOF’s first Toy Drive-Through.

Donating a toy to POOF provides the unique opportunity to turn a mini Christmas into a Merry Christmas and promote our goal to spread a spark of joy during every holiday season. All donations are tax-deductible, and toys will be distributed on scheduled dates in December 2020. Please visit us online at Powerofonefoundation.org for donation drop-off locations.

Please join us in the fight against hunger and want, now during these difficult times and beyond!

Related Businesses

The Nelson-Atkins Museum

Community Services

The Nelson-Atkins Museum

Kansas City, MO

The Nelson-Atkins is a comprehensive art museum with works of art dating from ancient to contemporary.

Animal Hospital of West Chester

Pet Services

Animal Hospital of West Chester

West Chester, OH

We are a full service medical and surgical veterinary hospital for all types of cats and dogs and specialize in taking care...

The Fetchington Luxury Pet Hotel

Pet Services

The Fetchington Luxury Pet Hotel

West Chester, OH

See More

Related Articles

See More