Darren makes a ‘splash’ for East Coast Radio's Toy Story with Game

12-year-old Josh Crocker issued the challenge to Darren last week because he wanted to help as many disadvantaged children as possible over the festive season.

The ‘entrance fee’ for the learners at the Durban North school who wanted to watch Darren and the young swim star go head to head, was a new toy for Toy Story. Darren says it was an amazing morning with all the teachers and children behind the race and by the end of it, they were surrounded by bags and bags of toys.

Read: Darren Maule dared to complete 1.6km swim for #ECRToyStory17

Darren adds, “When young Josh challenged me to a one-kilometre swim I wasn’t too sure but then he said it was for Toy Story and he could have challenged me to tree felling and I would have agreed because the campaign is so close to my heart. These kids are fit and strong and full of vitality and here comes this guy who was doing drowning avoidance. Luckily Josh was kind enough to have his friends do a couple of lengths for me. Josh was a trooper he did the whole thing.”

So far a total of around 1500 toys have been donated towards East Coast Radio’s Toy Story campaign, in partnership Game. The new toys are handed out to thousands of children in a government hospital, children’s home and crèches across KwaZulu-Natal. Teams have already visited little ones in hospitals on the north and south coast and Pietermaritzburg and surrounds including; Osindisweni Hospital, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, GJ Crookes Hospital and Port Shepstone Hospital.

Read - Toy Story 2017: There’s no telling where a toy might take them

If you’d like to get involved and help shape the course of a disadvantaged child’s life, you have until 15 December to donate a new toy at any Game store across KwaZulu-Natal.

Aside from the toy donations, you can also make a cash donation. Every cent of the funds donated to the campaign is channelled into the Game AmaLunchbox project which is aimed at feeding children from disadvantaged backgrounds while at school. You can make a cash donation via the following means:

East Coast Radio Charitable Association

Bank: FNB Commercial

Branch: Gateway

Branch number: 25 01 08

Account number: 622 224 283 37

Reference: Toy Story 2017

View the full photo album of Darren's swimming challenge for #ECRToyStory17 by clicking here.