Covelli Enterprises Donates $15K, Presents to Toys for Tots

WARREN, Ohio – Donations like the one made Tuesday morning at Panera Bread will help the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign put presents under the tree for nearly 17,000 area children.

Covelli Enterprises, which operates area Panera Bread cafes, donated an oversized check for $15,000 and about $1,000 in new toys to representatives of the Marine Corps Reserve unit based at Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township.

Over a nearly 40-year period, the Warren-based restaurant operator’s efforts have resulted in the donation of more than $630,000 in toys for less fortunate children, according to a news release distributed at the event.

“It is a true privilege to be able to partner with Toys for Tots each year,” Sam Covelli, owner and operator of Covelli Enterprises, said in the release.

“This is a long-standing tradition for Covelli Enterprises,” Allen Ryan, director of corporate affairs, said at the media event. “We are helping those children who otherwise would not have the ability to have Christmas gifts under their Christmas tree.”

The Marine Corps Reserve has been providing toys for less fortunate kids since 1947, Sgt. Mascimiliano Reyes said. The nearly 17,000 children this year’s campaign is expected to help in Mahoning and Trumbull counties is up from the 14,100 supported last year. So far, about 24,000 toys have been collected.

Reyes recalled his family “didn’t have a lot” when he was growing up.

“But we made it happen,” he added. “And now I have the opportunity to actually be that person to make it happen. It just feels right. It feels like the right thing to do.”

Pictured at top: From left are Sgt. Mascimiliano Reyes, Cpl. Erick Angel Figueroa and Allen Ryan, director of corporate affairs at Covelli Enterprises.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.