Experienced by Adrian McQueen

Photos by Adrenaline Lifestyles

The Holiday season is back upon us and we returned with the Ward 5 Community Toy Drive and Car Show. The owners and staff of Metrobar welcomed us with open arms. Metrobar, located in NE Washington DC at the Bryant Street development, is a widely popular venue that allows us the opportunity to have an impact on the community in a safe environment.

Metrobar features intimate and life-sized art installations, from the railcar itself to murals, stage, screens, and other programmable segments. The mission of Metrobar is to connect people with DC culture through entertaining, collaborative, arts-driven, and authentic experiences.

Paul Winestock, owner of “Fun It Up” and “His & Hers”, helped to pull together donations as well as friends and family to support this community effort. Tanya Whitaker, owner of STAT DC Global Solutions, brought out a truckload full of groceries and toys to make sure the growing demand was met. Both Paul and Tanya are great partners to have in this effort as we share the same commitment in nurturing, developing and inspiring underserved communities.

All were welcomed and no one was turned around as there were enough gifts for everyone. The Elite Bandits and friends pulled up and showcased their luxury vehicles alongside the Black Jeepers of the DMV with their custom Jeeps to make for an exciting car show.

The amazing ladies from Divaz Inc. coordinated the toy distribution and kept the line organized so that all families would have time and space to pick out the gifts that they wanted. Families showed up in droves to receive toys, take pictures with the vehicles and just have a good time.

 

 

Thanks to the generosity and philanthropic nature of the good people at Ford, we were provided a 2023 Ford Raptor R to assist in delivering the toys and supplies to the toy drive location, as well as haul away the trash from after breaking down all of the food boxes. The Raptor R features a 5.5-ft bed length, that gave me enough room to carry gifts, tables and chairs for the event.  Driving the vehicle around was a pleasure and it came complete with enough compartments to house our checklists, laptop, bags and phones. Many people were floored to see the Raptor R because it is such a limited vehicle and acclaimed as one of the best trucks on the market. It was definitely a luxurious sleigh.

 

 

The Toy Drive would not be possible without the support of our partners and sponsors. Thank you to Metro Bar, Premium Parking, Bryant Street, S.O.N.G., STAT DC, Our Sons Rise, Black Jeepers of the DMV, E.A.T. , Throttle Life, Elite Bandits, and Divaz Inc.

I always say, “As blessed as we are, it is our duty to give back to those that are less fortunate.” I will continue to live by the motto and move forward with uplifting the communities around me. Stay tuned as we continue reaching out to families and communities in need of assistance. I have taken great pleasure curating this movement and watching it grow each and every year. Enjoy the photo gallery.