KME is helping make Christmas a little brighter for area children.

The Nesquehoning company, a subsidiary of REV Group, packed a firetruck full of toys for Toys for Tots Tuesday as a way to help families in the communities they serve. This is the first year the company has participated in the program, which serves hundreds of children in Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

“It’s a group effort for our employees,” said Brian Connely, KME’s vice president and general manager. “These toys are going to folks in our communities so it’s nice to help out all those in the community, especially this time of year.”

James Laub, a lead man at KME and also a Toys for Tots representative, was thankful for the donation.

“They’re an amazing bunch of guys, who went out of their way to do this for us,” he said. “They’re very generous.

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Over 450 families are signed up for Toys for Tots this year, meaning that the organization will distribute toys to nearly 1,200 children, Laub said.

The custom pumper truck that KME used for the transportation of the toys to Salem Bible Fellowship Church in Lehighton is a new vehicle currently being outfitted for a fire department in New Jersey.

The Carbon and Schuylkil Toys for Tots program is operated by the Carbon-Schuylkill Marine Corps League Detachment 626.

Distribution of toys for Christmas to those who registered for the program takes place on Saturday in Lehighton and Dec. 20 in Tamaqua.