Photo courtesy of LewisGale

Eighteen bicycles, 37 coats, 33 MP3 players, dozens of dolls and hundreds of other items were collected by doctors and staff with LewisGale Physicians and then sent to West Virginia.

LewisGale Physicians, which is part of LewisGale Regional Health System, decided for the first time to do the toy drive to serve one of the neediest communities in the country.

LewisGale opted to send the gifts to McDowell County, W.Va.

“Over half of the children in McDowell County live below the poverty level,” said LewisGale spokeswoman Joy Sutton. “Many of the families don’t even have the basic necessities. We felt compelled to help this community because of the overall need in this community.”

The gifts, which also included diapers, backpacks, books and puzzles, will be distributed to 182 children in the county. The recipients were identified by Abundant Life International Ministries, Sutton said.

Bonus: It’s the season of giving and LewisGale isn’t the only for-profit business that is taking time to give back to the community. If you missed it, read Amanda Codispoti’s column from Sunday on retailers giving back.