Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Kris Harrell

The Greenville Parks and Recreation Department has joined Detroit Lions defensive end Za’Darius Smith for a Christmas toy drive event, where families could come and collect free toys for their children. 

Smith contacted Jerome Harris, director of the Greenville Parks and Recreation, to help organize this event for his hometown of Greenville. 

“The relationship me and him have, it’s more of a father-son relationship, and when he does things, he always calls to get my input, and this is something he wanted me to lead for him,” Harris said. “I coached him for most of his life in basketball, and we were just talking one day and he just said he was just something that he wants to do.”

Free toys will be given out on Monday, Dec 23 at the Dunbar Center at 208 School Highlands Road in Greenville. 

At the event, Greenville residents can drive through to receive the toys from Parks and Recreation staff and volunteers with the Chamber of Commerce. The drive will start at 12 p.m. and end at 3 p.m. Early arrival is recommended.

Tracy Salter, the executive director of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, said that the GACOC youth ambassadors are excited to assist with the event. 

“Za’Darius does a great job of giving back to his hometown, and this toy drive is one of the many ways he continues to make a positive impact on the community,” Salter said. “Jerome [III] is a tremendous asset to the community and always goes above and beyond to create opportunities that benefit community, specifically the youth.” 

While the Parks and Recreation is organizing the toy drive, Smith is contributing around $15,000, through his organization GOoD Life Nation, that is currently being put towards toys that will be handed out at the event. Toys purchased for the event were sourced from the Walmart in Greenville.

Harris and the Parks and Recreation staff hope the event helps make Christmas merrier for the people of Greenville. 

“[The goal is] to just make sure that every kid that might not have it and the kids that have it to have something under the tree or [to] play with that day,” Harris said. “Just [to] provide for the community in a positive way.”