San Francisco restaurant gets jump start on annual toy drive

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco restaurant is combining Thanksgiving and Christmas in the best way.

On Wednesday, Lefty O'Doul's got a jump start on its annual toy drive.

The Union Square restaurant usually collects toys for the firefighters' toy program, but this year it's also collecting toys for Glide Memorial Church, which plans to give away 10,000 toys.

"Their program ends on the 20th, and then we do our regular toy drive with the fire department on the 24th. That's our big one. So right now we are trying to start early, get a jump start on it," Lefty O'Doul's Nick Bovis said.

Lefty O'Doul's is also collecting toys for students at City Academy. Kids from the Tenderloin school were at the kickoff event singing carols.

The restaurant didn't forget about Thanksgiving. It donated 1,000 pounds of turkey to City Impact, which runs a meal program for Tenderloin residents.