VISTA, Calif. — Thanks to a Vista man, families in need have more food on their table this Thanksgiving.
The generous donor, known as the 'Toy Man,' received the President's Lifetime Achievement Award. I've seen Jeffrey Olsen and his big heart receive awards from the city, county and state, but the White House came calling this time.
For the past 36 years, Jeffrey has given away sweaters and jackets to the cold, food to the hungry and toys to kids.
The Toy Man starts thinking about what he can do for others every holiday season. His first call this year was to the Salvation Army. "Let's feed some people," I said when Jeffrey showed me his first round of giving.
Tucked away in his garage, Jeffrey's stored enough green beans to feed an army.
"Four hundred and twenty-nine pounds of cut green beans," said Jeffrey. "It makes me feel good when I can help them."
A total of 15,000 hours of humanitarian work led to a letter from President Biden in his mailbox inviting him to visit Washington, D.C.
Jeffrey received the prestigious President's Lifetime Achievement Award on September 7th. "It's neat," said Jeffrey, who was asked to give a speech.
"I just wanted to make sure what I said that I made a good speech. I think I did pretty good," said Jeffrey.
A man of few words, Jeffrey lets his acts of kindness do the talking.
"A donation like this helps a tremendous amount," said Lieutenant Cody Trimmer from the Salvation Army, who told me 150 families visit their food pantry every week.
"We are approaching our Christmas season and our holiday season this year. On Thanksgiving Day, we are having the Thanksgiving meal. We are always looking for donations and volunteers to come out and help, and this year, we are serving a thousand kids with toys, so we would love people to come to donate toys or ring a bell," said Lieutenant Trimmer.
He then presented Jeffrey with yet another award.
"This is for all of the work you do with the Salvation Army. Thank you so much for the community," said Lieutenant Trimmer.
Jeffrey is known as the Toy Man because he started donating gifts to children back in 1989.
He's given more than 30,000 toys to children and fed tens of thousands of pounds of food to families in need.
I asked him, "If you added it all up, how many people do you think you've helped?"
He told me, "60,970 people."
It's an exact number because Jeffrey records every jacket, toy, and vegetable donated.
"I've never seen so many green beans in my life," I said while carrying the beans to the Salvation Army van.
I've also never seen such a big, humble heart, but I guess that's why Jeffrey Olsen caught the president's eye. "It's going to help many people," he said. For more information about supporting the Salvation Army and possibly ringing a bell this holiday season, click here.