Freeport to Port O'Connor Toy Run
Join us for the 21st Annual Toy Run. Boats depart Bridge Bait in Freeport at 9:30am Saturday, December 2nd to deliver toys to the Adopt-An-Angel program.
Boats depart Bridge Bait in Freeport at 9:00 AM on the first Saturday in December every year for the trip down the ICW to Port O’Connor to deliver new toys to the Adopt-An-Angel program. Last year we provided Christmas toys for over 2,000 boys and girls ages 2 through 16 and this year we have been asked to help even more. Please donate new toys or money to this great cause. The Toy Run was originally set to be a Poker Run where all participants would drive down the ICW, collecting cards along the way and then meeting up for a party and prize awards in Port O’Connor. It was simply a fun thing to do during the winter doldrums when seas were too large to go offshore. The “catch” came in the form of one coastal county that threatened to arrest the participants if the event was held. They considered a Poker Run as gambling and let it be known that they would be on hand if we held it. Looking for some alternative it was decided that maybe a Toy Run could take its place. Jerry decided to call the folks with the POC Chamber of Commerce and see if they had a charity in need of toys. He was put in touch with Marie Hawes of the POC Community Center. Marie noted that they had a program called the Angel Tree and by providing toys they would be able to use their donation money for warm winter clothes and a Christmas dinner for needy kids in their area. That was all it took for the first Toy Run to happen. In the first year the team consisted of only a dozen boats. They loaded up at Freeport and made a horribly rainy and chilly ride 72 miles down the ICW and across Matagorda Bay to The Fishing Center at POC. The toys delivered were enough to nearly fill up the building and members of the Angel Tree program were able to care for all the kids in Port O’Connor and nearby Seadrift. All the participants spent the night at The Inn At Clarks and returned to Freeport the next day in seas that were even worse than the day before. Along the way one small boat lost power and had to be towed to Matagorda Harbor in some really choppy bay conditions but all made it back safe and sound. Over the subsequent years we have held the Toy Run in fair weather and fowl. One year we even had to knock the snow off the boats in order to load the toys but we managed to grow in numbers and in toys delivered. The Toy Run is always held the first Saturday in December. Each year we strive for more toys. This year we hope for more boats loaded to the gunnels with toys for many deserving children.
Freeport to Port O'Connor Toy Run
Date and Time
Saturday Dec 2, 2023
Website
Contact Information
(281) 684-1117
(281) 684-1117
Send Email
