Every toy made at this Utah factory is donated to a child in need

When visiting the toy factory run by Tiny Tim's Foundation for Kids, you can leave your wallet at home.

The West Jordan, Utah, toy factory makes small wooden cars, but doesn't charge a penny for them. In 2002, retired barber Alton Thacker and his wife, Cheryl Thacker, decided to open the factory after making several trips to small villages in Mexico to donate eyeglasses and medical equipment. Together, they saw "the important role toys played in helping little minds to grow," Alton Thacker told The Washington Post.

The toy cars are distributed free of charges to charities, churches, shelters, and children's hospitals, with some being delivered to kids as far away as Iraq, Russia, Brazil, and Ghana. More than 30 people regularly volunteer to carve and sand the wooden cars, with inmates at the Central Utah Correctional Facility painting them. Because lumber yards and cabinetmakers donate the wood, it only costs around $2 to build each car, and in 2018, the factory's one millionth wooden toy was made. "We have a small army of volunteers who want to get every one of our cars into the hands of a child," Thacker said. Catherine Garcia

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