The inaugural Morris Christmas Cruise Night and Toy Drive brings holiday joy to local children

MORRIS — Morris Cruise Night volunteers came out Friday night despite moderately freezing temperatures to raise monetary funds and toys for local children for the first Morris Christmas Cruise and Toy Drive.

“It was a great night. Obviously, it was very cold, but we were very happy with how everything turned out. We had about 50 to 60 cars and they all dropped off toys. We look forward to making it bigger and better next year, ” Cruise Night organizer Herb Wyeth said.

The beneficiary of the evening was Grundy County Heroes and Helpers, a non-profit organization consisting of first responders, their families, and community volunteers who help children and families in Grundy County that have experienced loss, trauma, poverty, and hardships.

Instead of awarding vehicles for style, and quality of the interior and exterior the award went to the best decorated. The winner chosen was Chris and Iris Oliphant with their 2019 Jeep Wrangler. They were awarded a $50 gift card to Apple Butter & Shugies.

To combat the cold Jack Bower, 8, of Morris served hot apple cider and hot chocolate easily customizable with marshmallows and candy canes without charge.

At the end of the night, Morris Cruise was able to donate over 50 unwrapped toys and $200 toward the Heroes and Helpers.

“We wanted to showcase downtown Morris’s Christmas spirit. It’s magical and a lot of other communities don’t do it as well. We had a lot of people going into the downtown shops,” Wyeth said.

Morris Cruise Night is looking for volunteers for next year, for information, visit morriscruisenight.com.