TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: Video aired on Aug. 8, 2022.
Keeping in mind the memories of when she couldn’t afford toys for her own children during the holidays, local business owner Ruby Abarca is giving back to the community by helping those in need receive toys for Christmas.
Abarca, owner of Ruby's Mexican Restaurant in Tyler, started an initiative this week with the community's help to collect toys for the women and children of the East Texas Crisis Center, a nonprofit that provides safety, shelter and education to victims of family violence, sexual assault, dating violence and other violent crime.
For three days, any customer who brought an unwrapped gift to one of the restaurant's three locations received a free meal in return.
Read more from our CBS19 paper partner, Tyler Morning Telegraph.