When Al Todd helped load a donated toy into a Toys for Tots Marine Corps Reserve van at a holiday luncheon in 2007, he never imagined the moment would grow into one of the region’s most beloved Christmas traditions.

But 18 years later, the simple question he asked that day -- “How can we do a little more?” -- has become an annual bike drive that delivered 598 bicycles this week, including 15 for children with special needs.

A Marine at that luncheon told Todd that the one gift that children long for most, and what was in shortest supply, was bicycles. New ones. Good ones. The kind many families simply couldn’t afford.

However, Toys for Tots cannot accept monetary donations for items valued over $30, so any gift above that amount had to be purchased and donated directly. That answer stayed with Todd long after the luncheon ended. He soon realized and that obtaining hundreds of bikes would take effort. But he wasn’t deterred.

“I remember being a kid and how your bike was your method of getting around,” he said. “Every child should have a bike.”

Todd reached out to his family, friends and co-workers at Thrivent Financial. Within weeks, they raised enough money to buy 33 bikes at about $100 each. He delivered them to Toys for Tots chapters serving Butler, Northeast Allegheny, Westmoreland and Beaver counties.

What began as a small December gesture has grown into an 18-year tradition known as Al’s Bike Drive -- a community effort that Todd now describes as having “taken on a life of its own.”

Al’s Bike Drive runs almost entirely on grassroots donations -- neighbors spreading the word, friends reposting Facebook updates, strangers pitching in after seeing a post online.

Each year, the drive purchases roughly $75,000 worth of bicycles from the Gibsonia Walmart. Then, an army of volunteers steps up to help.

On a bitterly cold morning on Dec. 4, about 100 volunteers bundled up and gathered outside the store. Todd’s co-workers were there, along with friends, extended family, Hampton police and firefighters. Together, they moved 583 traditional bikes out of Walmart’s cargo containers and into a waiting tractor-trailer and other vehicles.

The vehicles formed a caravan -- lights flashing, spirits high -- and followed a police escort that allowed them to pass through traffic lights and stop signs on the 10-minute journey to Wildwood Country Club. There, Toys for Tots officials received the bikes for distribution across the region.

Bill Bradford, one of Todd’s longtime friends, rode in the caravan and enjoyed watching people wave from sidewalks as the line of vehicles passed by.

“Store owners came out, horns honked and shoppers stopped what they were doing to cheer us on,” he said. “It was so good to see people doing good things.”

In recent years, the bike drive has grown to include a partnership with the Variety children’s charity which provides adaptive bicycles -- custom-fitted for children with disabilities -- so they can ride safely and independently.

This year, 15 adaptive bikes at a cost of $2500 per bike were added to the giveaway, and several of the families receiving them came to see their child’s new wheels, get tips on using them and thank Variety and Toys for Tots officials in person.

Every year has its unforgettable moments, Todd said.

“Several years ago, one little girl who was about 9 years old had tears in her eyes when she got her adaptive bike,” he recalled. “She told me, ‘Now I can ride with my sister.’ Moments like that make everything worth it.”

Among the families receiving adaptive bikes this year was Alexis Hartman and her 3-year-old son, Ryland. Hartman said his new bike will help Ryland learn to pedal — something she once thought might never happen.

“We want him to learn to do difficult things,” she said. She imagines a day when Ryland will ride beside her while she runs the annual Boston Harvest half marathon on the trail in Boston, Pa. “I never thought my son would be able to ride a bike like a typical kid.”

Jennifer Neilen, the Toys for Tots coordinator for northeastern Allegheny County, the Allegheny Valley and surrounding communities, said Todd’s contributions over 18 years have made a lasting difference.

“Toys for Tots is so much more than just giving toys,” she said. “It’s about giving hope and joy, and even a sense of normalcy to families who might be struggling during the holidays. Sometimes that one toy means the world to a child. And for parents, it can take away some of the stress and help them feel supported.”

The generosity behind Al’s Bike Drive, she added, echoes far beyond Christmas morning.

Todd agrees. He knows the drive succeeds not because of him alone, but because of the generosity of the entire community.

“Every year, people step up,” he said.

Eighteen years after he first wondered how he could “do a little more,” Todd knows thousands of children ride away with joy — proof that sometimes doing a little more ends up meaning a lot.

For more information, visit alsbikedrive.org.