It has been an idea five years - and 1550km - in the making.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ever since he established his pizzeria in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, Tony Talotta has looked to give back to communities with his 'toy for a taste' strategy.
Under the scheme, patrons who deliver a toy donation can receive a free small pizza when they dine.
"It was a good incentive, a way to get people to come in and try my pizza, and then I get to do something good with the toys too," Mr Talotta said.
By the end of every year, Mr Talotta has a literal truckload of toys that he delivers to children in hospitals in his neighbourhood.
This year, he and Bruce Lawson packed up their rented truck and journeyed first to Taree, and then to Wagga.
"This year, we thought we'd spread the Christmas cheer farther," Mr Lawson said.
"You've got a lot of kids this year affected by drought and fires. This is for them."
Delivering the collection to Wagga's Live Better group on Monday afternoon, it took upwards of an hour to completely unpack the entire truck.
The same thing happened over the weekend when the duo pulled up their truck in bushfire-affected Taree.
"We had a 20 foot container stacked full, absolutely chockablock, you couldn't even move in there," Mr Talotta said.
"It's fantastic to see the massive generosity from people."
By the end of the journey on Monday, Mr Lawson and Mr Talotta had managed to fill the conference room at Live Better with literally hundreds of toys for children of all ages.
While the majority will stay in-house to be distributed among children with special needs, a lot will also be given to various charities around the city, including the Salvation Army's Wishing Tree Appeal.