The seats of two school buses were packed on Saturday, Dec. 7, but not by kids on a weekend field trip but by dozens of donated toys.

Bags stuffed with toys sat in every row on the bus, organized by volunteers from the Dartmouth Police Department for its ninth annual Fill the Bus toy drive, held in front of the North Dartmouth Target. 

“[We’re] getting ready to move out this first bus,” said Detective Cristina Brum. “It’s completely jam packed.”

Toys will first be distributed through Dartmouth through the schools and some local organizations, including the Council on Aging, and then get donated in various other South Coast towns, such as Fall River, Brum said.

Nancy and her husband chose to donate a boy’s toy and a girl’s toy to Fill the Bus this year because they’ve been fortunate, as have their children, she said.

“We want to pay it forward,” she added. “There’s so many kids that don’t get to experience a happy Christmas, and every little thing helps.”

The majority of toys donated are suited for kids 10-years-old or younger, so the Fill the Bus drive also collects cash donations.

“We have a need for older kids, which they kind of get left out,” Brum said. “We’ll go back in [Target] and we’ll shop for those older kids with the cash donations … that way everybody gets something.”

For the past few years, Dartmouth Community Media has livestreamed a telethon at the event to raise extra funds for the toy drive, Brum said, adding that it makes the toy drive “a little extra special.”

Hosted by media students from Dartmouth High School, the telethon featured live performances, including a magician and various singers.

Rowan Desautels, 17, a student at the high school, performed at the event with her step dad John Brittingham and bandmate Richie Oliver.

“I personally can understand some hardships and things like that, so I think it’s really important and just to represent the community and be there for everybody,” Desautels said.

Oliver added that there’s a “really nice energy” at the drive.

“Everyone’s being really kind, and I think that’s part of the spirit of the event,” he said.

Janet Ferreira’s grandson was at the event to produce the telethon, so she decided to stop by to support him and donate a toy.

“It’s that type of season that you want to give as much as you can for those less fortunate,” she said. “It’s a really nice event.”

This was the first time Ferreira donated to the Fill the Bus drive, but she said that she’s donated to other toy drives in the past.

“I think they’re doing a wonderful thing for the community,” she said. “They’ve made it so welcoming.”

Fill the Bus is the police department’s biggest event of the year, which Brum said everybody “loves doing,” a statement that could be supported by the event’s high turnout.

“It’s a great time to get into the holiday spirit,” Brum said. “If you come out here, everybody’s got a smiling face, everyone’s excited to be here.”