MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Roughly 300 families in need will get to celebrate Christmas thanks to a toy drive by Big Brother of Mt. Juliet.
However, the toy drive almost didn't happen after thieves stole a majority of the gifts last week from the nonprofit's trailer in Wilson County.
Director Sherry Bilbrey said she was heartbroken when the toys were stolen.
"I’ve cried, and I’ve cried, and I’ve cried," Bilbrey said, "It breaks our heart.”
The majority of gifts stored inside the Big Brothers of Mt. Juliet trailer were stolen after the thieves ripped through a metal hand bar to get into the locked trailer. It was stored on a friend's property in the woods in Wilson County.
"The storage buildings were eating us up, and we couldn’t afford them anymore," Bilbrey said.
The nonprofit put out a call to the community and thousands of toys were donated in time for the toy drive, which was held Saturday at Mount Juliet Middle School.
"Our community is the bomb," said Bilbrey, "this is going to mean all the children have Christmas makes me happy."
It's clear to see that the thieves who tried to steal Christmas, didn't stop Christmas from coming after all.
Amazon and local churches had donated the stolen items and now the Wilson County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate the stolen trailer.
If you have any information, give them a call at 615-444-1412.
