Iowa mom continues late son's legacy with holiday toy drive

Iowa mom continues late son's legacy with holiday toy drive

Shatiera DeGeest, an Iowa mother, honors her late son Bentley's memory by organizing an annual toy drive for little kids fighting big battles.

A toy story: How the Beach Cities Toy Drive became a local Christmas miracle

by Mark McDermott They were a bunch of old hands. Each knew the backroom byways of a world the average citizen was blissfully unaware of. Each had a different expertise. And every once in a great while they’d all get together to work on a different kind of heist. They were no Ocean’s 11, mind you — nary a George Clooney among them — but they’d gather every other late Tuesday night in the dim light of the Mermaid Tavern and swap tales. And that w…