Charlie Batch's 'Stuff the Trolley' toy drive returns to Pittsburgh

An annual toy drive headed by former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch is returning to the Senator John Heinz History Center Friday.

The “Stuff the Trolley” event is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the history center’s Great Hall on the first floor. The idea is to fill the iconic Pittsburgh Trolley #1724 with toys to be given to underprivileged families facing an uncertain holiday season.

Batch has said on social media that donations “will make (the) season brighter for hundreds of families in the Pittsburgh area.”

Visitors can bring new and unwrapped toys to the event, held in partnership with the Best of the Batch Foundation’s annual “Batch-A-Toys Drive.”

Batch-A-Toys is a community-wide program in which Batch’s foundation adopts more than 150 Allegheny County families and provides toys to children, household items to the adults, and a holiday meal basket to families.

More than 8,000 toys and household items are donated through the foundation’s volunteers, donors and partner sites.

Batch will appear at the event and be joined by Santa Claus to greet visitors. Admission to the “Stuff The Trolley” event is free. But the regular admission price will still be charged to those looking to tour the rest of the history center’s exhibits.

Those who can’t attend the event but are interested in making a donation can still drop off toys for the “Batch-A-Toys” drive now through Dec. 21 at the history center in Pittsburgh.