GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Rick’s Toy Box Inc., a toymaking nonprofit, has partnered with Rabbi Michoel Feinstein from Chabad of the Bay Area to send wooden cars overseas to the families displaced in Isreal.

Feinstein and Rick decided to come together last month after the attacks on Israel. The goal of this project is to not only help those in need but also take a step in the right direction to make the world a better place.

“We are putting together a drive to collect new winter items and, in this case, toys for the families of those that no longer have a permanent place to live and have been relocated to other parts of Israel where they are safer,” said Rabbi Michael Feinstein. “And being the rabbi here of the community, that gives me an additional opportunity to put that together so that all those people who are wanting to do something can actually have a central location, a point-person to practically make that happen.”

Rick’s Toy Box divides the workload between his 25 volunteers. Fifteen volunteers in Fond Du Lac do the cutting, and ten volunteers in Green Bay do the finishing work. Rick Brunner Local 5’s Samantha Petters is always looking for volunteers and is really in need of funding for all the orders they receive and special projects like this.

Brunner has sent toys to India, Ukraine, and now Israel. He also told Samantha that all that hard work is worth it when he gets to see the joy his toys bring to children, not just locally or throughout the country but across the world.

“How many people can say, ‘I helped, and I made a product, and I shipped it halfway around the world to a war zone country and then put a smile on a child’s face,'” said Brunner.

Rick believes that while all donations will help support a national cause, they will also help him and Rabbi Michoel Feinstein to make a real difference.

“Most people don’t have the ability to do what’s being done but still want to help in one way or another, and this is the way that they can help,” said Rick. “It’s really not a toy car. It’s more of a tool, maybe more of a mental health tool for them, it’s maybe a moment where it’s going to pull them away from a bad situation and let them become… maybe a child for a brief time.”

Rick said he hopes to make “500++” in donations for the first shipment before Thanksgiving and “500+++” for a second shipment before Hanukkah. To donate or for more information, you can go online at Rick’s Toy Box.