Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (“Integrity”), a leading distributor of life and health insurance, and provider of wealth management and retirement planning solutions, today announced the success of its second annual “Integrity Gives Back” Toy Drive to benefit children-focused hospitals and organizations across the nation. The company made a powerful impact in the communities it serves by collecting more than 16,000 toys, stuffed animals and books nationwide, with more than 10,000 of the donated toys delivered to Children’s Health in Dallas.
“It’s humbling to see our employees and Partners rally together around a cause that helps bring joy to children and their families during an often difficult time,” expressed Bryan W. Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrity. “At Integrity, Family is one of our core values, and this toy drive was inspired by an experience my own family had while receiving care at Children’s Health. We saw the impact getting a new toy had on our son, and it was actually his idea to collect more toys to share that experience with other children. When you’re in the hospital, it can be overwhelming — not only for the child patient, but the entire family. The joy that a toy brings into the room plays an important role in the care those children receive.”
This year, the largest recipient of the “Integrity Gives Back” initiative was Children’s Health, located near Integrity’s Shared Services office in Dallas, which received over 10,000 donated items. Toys given to patients at Children’s Health help to greatly improve their experience. Pediatric patients are given a toy or stuffed animal for a variety of reasons, including celebrating treatment milestones or birthdays, or to lift them up during their stay in the hospital. These items help comfort the children, and they are often used to help educate the patients on procedures they may be facing through simulations on a stuffed animal, helping to ease fears and inspire confidence during treatments.
Last year, Integrity’s passionate Dallas-based employees had a goal to collect 500 toys, which they greatly exceeded by collecting more than 3,000. The success of this heartwarming experience led Integrity to expand its toy collection efforts nationwide, with 6,000 employees in 200 partner offices joining the “Integrity Gives Back” Toy Drive. This company-wide effort greatly expanded the drive’s reach and impact. It resulted in the collection of more than 16,000 donated toys that will help provide children and their families with a moment of normalcy and delight during the often long journey of care.
“While my daughter was in the hospital, she was the recipient of a toy donated by a generous individual, just like our employees have done,” shared Shane Van Loon, Managing Partner at Integrity. “That simple act of receiving a new toy brought her a spark of happiness during a very difficult time. It allowed her to take her mind off the tough things she was going through. The toys donated today will help thousands of children in similar situations. It’s moments like these that make me so proud to be a part of the Integrity family. Seeing all of us come together in this way is an inspiration. We’re not only professing our core values, but we’re living them.”
“With Integrity’s donation, we are going to positively impact the lives of so many patients,” shared Laran McNeill, Chief Advancement Officer, Children’s Medical Center Foundation. “We have seen a decline in folks giving toys since the pandemic, and this donation will be a super boost to our efforts. Months and months of joy have been made possible, and we are so grateful to Integrity employees for their overwhelming effort — we couldn’t be happier!”