Brighten Your Day

The Internet Helps Find A Toy Truck For A Mentally Challenged Man, Then Tonka Comes Through Huge

November 30, 2017

A woman in desperate need of a toy truck that was made 17 years ago has been saved by the power of social media and human kindness.

Every Christmas, she gets her mentally challenged brother the same toy truck but she could not find one anywhere this year. So she put out the request for help on Reddit.

imgur / aishavoya

"My brother, Max, is 25 years old and mentally about a 5 year old," she wrote. "He's mentally and physically disabled and the only thing he wants for Christmas is a Blue Police Hummer truck, made in 2000."

imgur / aishavoya

"All my brother is asking for Christmas is a blue Tonka Hummer truck. Which would be a lot easier if they weren't produced in 2000. And if we hadn't bought every other one on EBay for the last 17 years."

"He plays with them for hours daily, so a lot of them have broken down and been used for parts over the years."

imgur / aishavoya

She's tried to "fool" him with similar models but it has to be authentic and it has to be blue.

"He hates the rubber tires, so they come off immediately. It needs to have a metal hook. I've tried making him resin cast copies over the years, but he only likes the metal ones. I've tried painting the orange or red ones blue, but he can tell the difference.

If anyone has one of these in their attics, please throw it on eBay!"

imgur / aishavoya

It didn't take long for someone with superior eBay searching skills to find one. The Reddit user immediately purchased the item.

And it gets better.

Tonka got wind of the story and promised to send multiple trucks and a care package to the man.

"We hope to be able to send them as many as we can find as well as a giant Tonka care package," the company wrote on Facebook. "Giving is the true spirit of Christmas, and we would not be where we are today without our fans and customers. We live to give back whenever we have the opportunity to do so. This story touches our hearts and we hope to make this special fan's Christmas extra special!"

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