Man’s Wisecrack about Walmart Christmas Bash Turns into Epic Toy Drive – Thousands RSVP!

Quick Smiles:

• A New Jersey man’s joke about throwing a party at a Walmart self-checkout counter turned into an epic toy drive.
• Over 7,000 people showed up to donate toys, food, pet food, and more, benefiting over 1,000 families in the Lacey area of New Jersey.
• Despite starting as a cynical joke, the event turned into a massive community effort that even got the local Walmart manager involved.

So, there’s this guy in New Jersey, Andrew Delgado, who had this wild idea to throw a party at the Walmart self-checkout counter. His Facebook event description was a hilarious jab at the self-service concept: “celebrating another successful year of picking, paying, and bagging your own groceries while actual employees just stand around and check receipts.”

But then, something unexpected happened. Over 21,000 people marked themselves as ‘interested’ in his event. With that kind of attention, Delgado thought, why not turn this joke into something positive?

Walmart wasn’t exactly on board with hosting the event, but that didn’t stop our determined Delgado. He had a new plan. “What if… I was to organize a big toy drive where we have a Santa Claus and then we all purchase toys from the store, pile them outside, and then donate them to whatever children happen to come to the store?” he proposed on the Facebook event page.

Delgado was convinced that this could make a real difference. “I genuinely believe that something good can come from this. Times are tough for a lot of people. I think this would be perfect,” he said.

So, he reached out to his local Elks Lodge community organization, which agreed to offer their Lacey Township location as a drop-off site. The question was, how many of those 21,000 people would actually show up?

Well, the response was nothing short of amazing. Over 7,000 people participated, and trucks full of presents, food, pet food, and other donations flooded the Elks Lodge. Even local stores got involved, and the news of the event made it all the way onto USA Today.

Delgado kept everyone updated on the progress, estimating that the gifts would make it to over 1,000 families in the Lacey area of New Jersey. After delivering the last of the donations, he reflected on the event: “We didn’t have a whole lot of time to plan this but we did an amazing job nonetheless.”

And, in a delightful twist, the manager of the local Walmart store drove a truck to the event and unloaded a ton of toys and food. Delgado was quick to praise him, saying, “He’s actually a really great guy and I really appreciate him coming through for us.” And to put the cherry on top, Delgado added, “I don’t actually hate self-checkout.”

So, there you have it. What started as a joke turned into a massive toy drive that brought a community together and made a real difference. Now, that’s what I call a party!

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