KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Lily found this story idea after we were contacted by a viewer who saw our previous coverage. Share your story idea with Lily.
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Late last month, I spoke with Holly Pollard, owner of Brookside Toy and Science in Kansas City, Missouri. She told me her store has been dealing with the impact of tariffs on toys and other Christmas items.
“Something that I would have had on my shelf at $60, that I consider to be a good Christmas present price, is now $90 or $95," she told me.
That increased cost has made things more challenging for Kansas City-area charities to gather toys for families and kids in need.
My story aired the night of Nov. 24.
"I opened the store (the next day) just like normal," Pollard told me.
Pollard and store manager Evelyn Wouters say business started out slow on Nov. 25.
"I think he might have been the first or second person in," Wouters said.
He is a neighbor of Brookside Toy & Science. I reached out to the neighbor, but he told me he wants to remain anonymous.
Pollard and Wouters don't want him to go unnoticed. They say he spent about 45 minutes strolling the aisles of the toy store, carefully selecting gifts for kids in need.
"There were things I showed him, and he was like, 'Eh, I'm not feeling that.' So, it was like shopping for his own family, but it was all a donation," Pollard said.
Pollard said he spent $500 on children he doesn't know.
“We were below his budget, and he was like, ‘Let’s add one or two more things,'" Wouters said.
The thing is, the neighbor said he shopped at Brookside Toy & Science decades ago when his family members were young enough to enjoy toys like robot building kits.
"When I showed it (a robot building kit) to him, he got excited, like I do about stuff like this, and he said he could picture giving these to the kids in his life," Pollard said.
It's the first year Pollard has hosted toy collection sites — one for Children's Mercy and another for RoseBrooks — at her store. She told me she didn't want her customers to think she was pushing sales.
“This year it (the need for toy collection sites) seemed extreme," Pollard said. "The numbers of requests I was getting, which is what made me stop and consider maybe this is a different year, maybe I do need to consider doing something new.”
Last week, Pollard saw the Kansas City community step up, and it all started with the neighbor.
"By the time he left, I was almost in tears," she said.
The neighbor Pollard and Wouters won't forget.
"He really kicked the day off," Wouters said. "After he left, we had multiple other people come in and donate."
Brookside Toys & Science — located at 330 W 63rd St. in Kansas City, Missouri — is collecting toys through Dec. 17. For every toy donated, the store will match the donation. Donors do not have to purchase toys at Pollard's store in order to drop off a donation there.
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