Chris Lopez

Dec 6, 2024 | 13wham.com | Chris Lopez

Fri, December 6th 2024 at 4:42 PM4-year-old Jacob Netkin is donating his birthday gifts and toys he collected to the Pirate Toy Fund Toy Drive for the third year in a row. (Photo by Julia Coburn/WHAM, Nov. 23, 2024)Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — The Pirate Toy Fund is hoping to collect 25,000 toys for kids in need this holiday season, a lofty goal for a nonprofit that started out nearly three decades ago by collecting about 400 days.

Dec 5, 2024 | 13wham.com | Chris Lopez

Ogden, N.Y. (WHAM) — It takes a team effort to do what the Pirate Toy Fund does year-round. For a sports team that's used to counting, no score is needed for this occasion. Just a giving heart. The Greece Gladiators 10U baseball team traveled to the PTF headquarters to sign cards, donate toys and get a tour of the facility.

Dec 4, 2024 | 13wham.com | Chris Lopez

Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — It's not unusual to hear that kids want toys — a lot of toys — for Christmas, their birthday and every other special occasion in between. But young James Netkin has other plans for his gifts. "I want other kids to be happy," he explained. For a few years now, James has only wanted to give his birthday toys to the Pirate Toy Fund — a rare act for a soon-to-be 5-year-old.

Dec 3, 2024 | 13wham.com | Chris Lopez

Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — All throughout the year, the Pirate Toy Fund collects trinkets for children in need at various locations around town. But many wonder — how do they collect so many? "During the day, I build boxes," explained Mike Slattery, vice president of the Pirate Toy Fund. "This seems to be taking up a lot of my time recently."Last year, PTF gave out more than 41,000 toys — no small feat for the nonprofit.

Nov 28, 2024 | 13wham.com | Chris Lopez

Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — This year, the Pirate Toy Fund will put countless smiles on many faces, just as Gary Smith, better known as Gary the Happy Pirate, intended when he started this venture in 1995. "He was there at every event during the toy drive," said Otto Harnischfeger, executive director of Pirate Toy Fund. "He was the first one there showing up at 5 in the morning to set up."For nearly 30 years, Gary's heartfelt creation has given out more than 500,000 toys to kids in need.