Covelli Enterprises Donates $15,000 to Toys for Tots

WARREN, Ohio — A $15,000 check and a collection of brand new toys from Covelli Enterprises will help ensure children in need have a happy holiday season.

Covelli representatives presented the donation Friday morning to members of the U.S. Marine Corps for Toys for Tots, the Corps’ community action program that collects new toys and distributes them to children in need for the Christmas season. The donation was made at the Panera Bread in Warren.

Accepting the donations on behalf of the U.S. Marine Corps were Cpl. John Walker and Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Xochicale. 

“This is a great feeling. We’re able to give back to the local communities,” Walker said. It’s important to be able to help with making Christmas special to families who are less fortunate, he added.

“We’re here to let the community know the Marine Corps is here and we’re about giving back to the community,” Xochicale said.

For more than 30 years, Covelli Enterprises has been involved with the Toys for Tots campaign, said Allen Ryan, director of corporate affairs.

“Being a successful business here, we feel a responsibility here to make sure we’re helping in every way possible,” he said.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, a shift has happened regarding needs in the community, according to Ryan. The annual Toys for Tots donation has brought back some recognition of different priorities, he said.

“As much as it’s nice for us to donate the money to help the Marines and assist them in buying toys, I think the awareness that something like this brings to the community reminds people … there are other needs in the community,” Ryan said.

Giving back to the community is an important responsibility for businesses and military alike, Ryan continued

“It’s everything,” he said. Generosity is a way of thinking that Ryan said he learned from owner Sam Covelli. “If successful businesses don’t give back, then who is?”

“It is a true privilege to be able to partner with Toys for Tots,” said Sam Covelli, owner and operator of Covelli Enterprises. “This has been a cause we’ve supported for more than three decades, and it’s because we are committed to taking care of people in our communities, especially children, and especially during the holiday season.”

Xochicale said the toys will be passed out next week by local agencies who signed up through the Toys for Tots website at ToysforTots.org. 

Pictured: Cpl. John Walker, Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Xochicale and Allen Ryan, director of corporate affairs for Covelli Enterprises, stand in front of toys along with a check at the Warren Panera Friday morning for a donation to Toys for Tots.

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