On Black Friday, the holiday giving spirit was on full display at Meadowbrook Lanes where Evan Huddon, 16, had organized a toy drive complete with Santa and Christmas tree and free bowling for everyone who brought an unwrapped present.

No stranger to bringing his community together for good, Huddon held a benefit last year with donations going to three local organizations. That benefit was intended as a thank-you to the community, which earlier that year had contributed $10,000 to defray the cost of a new, wheelchair-accessible van for the Huddons to transport Evan, who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus.  

With more than 200 toys collected and more streaming in, Julie Huddon, Evan’s mother, estimates that at least 75 people attended the benefit, with all contributions going to the JONAH Community Center. JONAH, an acronym for Join Our Neighborhood And Help, collects toys every year, last year lending assistance to more than 65 families. Rob Farrell, general manager at Meadowbrook Lanes and a JONAH board member, has known the Huddons for 10 years and played an integral role in the event, providing the space and suggesting that people of all ages be allowed to contribute a present in exchange for a game. The lanes, he says, hosts many benefits, including for VOWS (Volunteers of Warwick Schools), various local schools and the Special Olympics.

Evan, who will be 17 in December, is “basically a spokesperson for Hasbro Children’s Hospital,” says his mother. A lifelong patient at the hospital, Evan has 24 surgeries under his belt, most of them emergencies. In 2011, Evan traveled to Washington, D.C. and Orlando, Florida, to represent the hospital as Children’s Miracle Network Champion, and his past fundraising efforts on behalf of the hospital have met with tremendous success, tripling the expected funds at a recent marathon from $2,000 to $6,000 and volunteering at the hospital’s annual radiothon. He recently participated in the Mr. Roger Williams University Pageant, a benefit for Hasbro that raised $13,000. He advertised energetically for the toy drive at the Lanes, hanging posters around the hallways of his school and making announcements to the student body.

Evan’s fundraising efforts won’t stop there. Julie Huddon says that in addition to running another holiday toy drive next year, Evan will be meeting with the athletic team at Salve Regina University to discuss the possibility of a benefit dance marathon. He’ll continue his work on behalf of Hasbro Children’s Hospital. And for now, toys can still be donated to JONAH on behalf of Evan and his fierce holiday cheer. Evan himself “felt really blessed” to have pulled off the drive, which was “jam-packed” with people, he says. “I love giving back to the community,” he adds.