Belle Grove Elementary’s Holiday Toy Drive: How to Help Fill the 2026 Toy Store

On Saturday, December 12, parents and caregivers from Belle Grove Elementary in Brooklyn Park will walk into a room full of toys and choose gifts for their own children. Every one of those gifts starts as a donation. Through Wednesday, December 9, The Jen Holden Group is collecting new, unwrapped toys for this Anne Arundel County holiday toy drive, and we would love your help.

This is the fifth year Belle Grove has run its Holiday Toy Store, and we're proud to support it again. Below you'll find a little about the school, how the Toy Store works, why schools like this one matter so much to our team, and the simplest ways to give.

Getting to know Belle Grove Elementary

Belle Grove Elementary is an Anne Arundel County public school in the Old Brooklyn Park community, in the northern part of the county. It serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and the school describes its community as caring and close-knit. Its stated mission is short and direct: "We respect and value all children, and have high expectations for instruction and learning."

Belle Grove is a Title I school, which means it receives additional federal funding based on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. At Belle Grove, that share is high. According to the school, nearly 93% of its students qualify.

That number speaks to need. It doesn't speak to effort. In 2015, the Maryland State Department of Education announced that Belle Grove had been named a National Title I Distinguished School for the 2014-2015 school year, pointing to its use of data to strengthen student achievement and its growing community involvement. The Toy Store is one more example of a school that leans on its community and gives a lot back.

How the Holiday Toy Store works

Most toy drives hand out gifts. Belle Grove does it differently. The school sets up a Toy Store where parents and caregivers walk the tables and choose gifts for their own children. They know what their kids are into right now, what's age-appropriate, and which gift a particular child has been asking about for weeks. The school describes the goal simply: helping families celebrate the season with joy, pride, and independence.

Gifts are offered at a minimal cost, and that money stays at the school. It funds programs that reinforce positive behavior and enrich students' experiences throughout the year. So a donated toy does two jobs. It ends up with a child in December, and the small amount a family pays for it helps support every student at Belle Grove for months afterward.

Last year, more than 135 families shopped the Toy Store, and the school says the tradition keeps growing. More families means the shelves need to be fuller than they were last year.

Why we keep showing up for schools like Belle Grove

We spend our days helping people buy and sell homes across Anne Arundel County. Ask anyone who has settled into a new neighborhood what made it feel like home, and the answer is rarely the house alone. It's the neighbors, the teacher who learned their child's name in the first week, and the people who show up when someone needs a hand.

The same county where we help families find their homes includes schools working with far fewer resources, and families stretching every paycheck to get through December. We believe being part of a community means showing up for those schools too, not only the ones that already have plenty of support.

That's why Belle Grove matters to us, and why our support goes beyond a single drop-off. We've also run a summer food drive for Belle Grove families, matching gift card donations. This December, our team will spend Saturday, December 12, at the Toy Store helping parents and caregivers shop. We would rather be in the room than simply drop off boxes, because that is where you see what your neighbors' generosity actually does.

How to donate to the Anne Arundel County holiday toy drive

Choose whichever option is easiest for you. Every donation needs to reach Belle Grove by Wednesday, December 9.

Key dates for the 2026 toy drive

If you're already out holiday shopping, grab one extra gift. It's a small thing for you, and it means a lot to a family close to home.