Salem, Oregon Jiffy Lube Stores Volunteer in Christmas Toy Drive Charity

A Jiffy Lube in Salem, Oregon, has partnered with another local business for a Christmas toy drive this year, reports KOIN.

A former foster child, Miller’s BBQ owner Matthew Miller came up with the idea, wanting to provide a way for foster children to celebrate the holidays.

“I said, ‘Let's do a Christmas party. Let's do it family inclusive, so it doesn't matter if the foster family has bio kids or foster kids, they all get to be a part of it,’” Miller said. “Creates that unity during the holiday season versus a segregation of, ‘oh, this is just for the foster kids.’”

Though Miller planned to pay for the initiative with his own funds, when word spread in the community of his plans, Jiffy Lube was eager to help. 

James Stone, an area fleet & marketing manager for Jiffy Lube, reached out to Miller. Now, all five Jiffy Lube stores in town will serve as dropoff spots for the toy drive. Anyone who drops off a new, unwrapped toy will receive a $25 Jiffy Lube gift card as well.

Stone explained that the motivation to get involved came from being a part of and having family in the local community. It also provides a great way for customers to become familiar with the owners of their local Jiffy Lubes.

“Basically, we just wanted to give back to the community. A lot of people don't know that Jiffy Lubes are locally owned, and it was one way for us to reach out and let people know, ‘Hey, we are part of this community—we also have kids in this community, and we want to give back.’”