GRAND BLANC -- Joe Abbott owner of Joe’s restaurant will bear the blistering cold out front of his restaurant Thursday night. In return he'll have the joy of knowing that hundreds of kids will have a better Christmas. He hopes to motivate others to give toys for the Toys for Tots drive.
"It was something I kind of came up with and I thought what would be crazy enough to get people to get out of the house and get a toy to help out a family that needs a little help during this holiday season," Joe said.
As he enters his fifth year camping out, he hopes this year’s bad economy won't hurt the number of donations; his goal, to collect enough toys for 400 hundred families in need. "Last year I kind of thought we would struggle and more and more people were saying that (they) decided to cut back (last) year and go buy a toy to help out a family, that's what I’m kind of hoping for this year.
Young Madeline Mason was so moved by Joe efforts that she decided to step up and help other kids out this year. Madeline told NBC25 News it feels good helping the cause. "Because kids need them because they don't have families and they need presents for Christmas," Madeline said.
Joe welcomes the cold night ahead and says he'll have no regrets about freezing conditions. "I’m going to keep doing it till…my body can't take it anymore…..look at them they're having a good time. So I’ll keep doing it till I can't do it any more," Joe said.
