E-40’s Toy Drive gives out thousands of toys in South Vallejo

VALLEJO — Over a thousand toys were given Saturday in South Vallejo’s 3rd annual E-40 Toy Drive, a charity event put on by various local businesses and individual benefactors with the help of more than 60 volunteers.

By 10 a.m., families had already lined up on Lemon Street and up Sonoma Boulevard waiting to enter the Shiloh Church parking lot, where thousands of toys awaited. 

Each child that came received a toy — from dolls, to footballs to remote controlled drones — and every family a bicycle. Larger raffle prizes included a flat screen TV and a Playstation 5. 

“I’ve seen the community come together more than it would when I was younger,” said South Vallejo rapper Tonee Hayes, better known as Nef the Pharaoh, in an interview.

“It would take a lot to have people come out. But as you saw today, the line was wrapped around the corner, and it’s raining outside. It’s beautiful,” he said. “It means everything to me to be able to give back to my community and really be from here. Like I said, I walked these streets, so it means everything.”

There was free food and drink, live music, celebrity appearances and even a bouncy house specifically designed to fly drones in. Half a dozen santas were seen walking around as well as a gingerbread man and even a Grinch.

While he was unable to make an appearance, the event is named after rapper E-40 for being the event’s primary financial benefactor. 

E-40 himself grew up in South Vallejo on Magazine Street and used to go to Shiloh for Sunday service, where his grandfather was a pastor. When not praying, he was busy hustling his mixtapes out the trunk of his car in front of M&M Liquors, across the street from the church.

The toy drive is thanks to the tight-knit relationships that make up South Vallejo’s community identity. 

Annette Vaughn, whose husband Rance Vaughn is the church pastor, said the church first had the idea to do a toy drive three years ago. “Then E-40, who’s my nephew, he wanted to get in on it, and Frank from M&M, he wanted to get in on it, so it's all three of us,” she said.

Shiloh Church, which was founded in 1977, has a history of working for the community. Every Thursday they give out free food to anyone who lines up. 

Ayman “Frank” Alghaiti, co-owner of M&M Liquors, said the toy drive is about bringing the community together. 

“I’m a Muslin you know,” he said. “[Charity] that’s something between you and God. It’s not about the recognition.”

“A lot of families are going through tough tough times,” said Alghaiti. “Seeing the kids smile, nothing makes me happier.”

South Vallejo, along with the Country Club Crest neighborhood in North Vallejo, were historically racially segregated and had higher incidences of violence. It is also where some of the city’s most famous artists were born and raised. 

Including Nef The Pharaoh, several other renowned Vallejo rappers showed up including LaRussell and Teflon Twaun. 

“We don’t have a sports team you know, all we got is our rappers and athletes who make it,” said rapper LaRussell Thomas in an interview, himself from North Vallejo. 

Having these homegrown stars show up and give back to their community, “it boosts morale,” said LaRussell.

“We haven’t had a lot of people who’ve made it out of here that we get to see daily on a day to day,” LaRussell said. “And I’m one of those, where the people get to see me and they get to see Nef and get to see Twaun, and that’s important, it's vital to the morale of the city.”