CyrusOne’s Sterling campus has shared the holiday spirit of giving in Virginia by helping the Loudoun County Toys for Tots campaign return to in-person volunteering and toy distribution after the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have donated 10,000 square feet of unused office space at our Northern Virginia 5 facility for collection, storage and distribution for the Loudoun County Toys for Tots 2022 toy drive. This will help some 300 volunteers and eight Loudoun County Toys for Tots staffers receive, sort and hand out thousands of gifts to the area’s needy children during the holiday season.

“We coordinated with the Loudoun Marine Corp League Detachment 1205 and its coordinators to use the third-floor unfinished office area for toy storage, process/sorting, and pick up for this holiday season,” said Robert Smith, CyrusOne senior director of regional operations. “It was awesome to contribute to and witness the effort and commitment to those in need and imagine the smiles that will come from this. And a special thanks goes to Dave Johnson, John Cable, Gerald Travis, Jordan Ramzy, and Chris Ziarek, our colleagues who helped coordinate.”

Since 1947, the Marine Toys for Tots Program has collected new unwrapped toys and distributed them to less fortunate children to help bring a message of joy and hope to them during the holidays. The Loudoun County Toys for Tots campaign distributed more than 8,900 toys to 7,421 children in 2021 and looks to surpass those numbers in 2022.

“The Loudoun County Toys for Tots program wouldn’t be successful without businesses like CyrusOne donating an operational area for us to run our program, the generosity of area families and organizations, and our tireless volunteers,” said Frank Holtz, Loudoun County Toys for Tots coordinator. “We are also indebted to the men and women of the Loudoun County Fire and Rescue services for collecting and delivering massive amounts of toys collected at each of the fire stations in Loudoun County.”

In early December, the organization began setting up at the Sterling campus, laying down pallets for the toys to later be sorted and bagged according to children’s ages. On Dec. 9, the volunteers welcomed area fire trucks, fire station workers and EMTs, who dropped off the toys they collected for the annual program.

Having space to collect and sort the toys is vital to the Marine Corps League in Loudoun County’s annual work to brighten local children’s lives at a special time of year, according to Rita Sartori, assistant coordinator of Loudoun County Toys for Tots. With no space of its own, it relies every year upon the generosity of businesses who have space to share. In the past, Northern Virginia data center operators have stepped up to meet that need. And this year, CyrusOne answered the call from the Data Center Coalition (DCC), which in fall sent out the notice for needed space on behalf of Toys for Tots.

Always seeking to be more actively involved in the DCC and deepen its presence in the community, the Sterling campus was more than happy to offer the space and its convenient adjacent loading dock to Toys for Tots. Workers at Sterling also have a tradition of coming together to do good things for area youth.

“The group here with CyrusOne in Sterling in particular gravitates more toward the youth charities,” said Chris Napier, CyrusOne Vice President of Operations. “They do have a history of working with local schools and helping rebuild afterschool programs and things of that nature. Helping Toys for Tots in Loudoun County was a natural extension of these local charitable efforts.”

Click here to donate to Loudoun County Toys for Tots.

Our charitable work on behalf of children goes even further at our Dallas headquarters with our annual Angel Tree giving and annual support of Community Partners of Dallas’ Back-to-School Drive and Holiday Toy Drive. Colleagues buy toys for the children directly or through wish lists. The drive aims to restore a child’s hope by giving them gifts they specifically asked for. In 2021, CPD gave two or more gifts each to 4,451 children.

Our employees also personally donate to Community Partners of Dallas’ Rainbow Room, a resource center that offers only brand-new clothing, shoes, hygiene items, books, toys, school supplies. Dallas area caseworkers can order online or “shop” in-person at the Rainbow Room to get these supplies for the children they take care of, and the children gain a sense of security, ownership and esteem form having new possessions all their own. In 2021, 9,787 children received supplies from Rainbow Room.

Every year, CyrusOne and its employees support a variety of charities and organizations across the country, including partnerships, fundraising and food drives with North Texas Food Bank and Houston Food Bank. CyrusOne is also involved with the Knowledge is Power Program, Carry The Load, Girl Scouts of the USA, Midtown Educational Foundation, Light The Night Cincinnati, Girlstart – STEM Education, Katy Trail 5K, March of Dimes, Big Brothers Big Sisters Community Partners of Dallas, Cotes de Coeur (American Heart Association) and Relay For Life.

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