THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING RUNNING A TOY DRIVE TO SUPPORT OUR ANGEL TREE CHRISTMAS TOY DRIVE PROGRAM.

We are happy to help you with any of your Christmas/holiday toy drive questions/needs, however, we’ve created these helpful tips to get you started!

Designate a Drop-Off Location for the toys and ensure you have bins/boxes to place toys in as well as signs identifying them as donation bins*.

Storage – it’s important to consider where the toys will be stored as they are being collected. 

Determine Scope of Toy Drive – Some toy drives are open to toys/gifts for any age group while others focus on a specific age range or type of gift (like a book drive).  Determine ahead of time what you want to concentrate on and ensure this is on your promotional material. Please note that The Salvation Army accepts new/unopened toys/gifts valued up to $40 for children aged 12 and under.

Promote Your Toy Drive* – Getting the word out about your toy drive to as many people as possible is essential.   If your target donors are people within your organization or business, you might use an organization-wide campaign to reach your audience.

If you’re advertising your toy drive to the broader community, you’ll need to advertise more widely. Utilizing social media is a great way to spread the word, including posts about the donations you have received.  You can also post physical flyers and talk to local businesses in your community. 

*We encourage you to indicate that your toy drive is in support of The Salvation Army and we are happy to provide you with our logo and a letter authorizing its use to promote your campaign.  Please do not use our logo without permission.

Create and Publicize your Wish List – It can be helpful to give donors some direction regarding what toys would be best to donate to your drive. Consider creating a checklist or registry that donors can pick from as they go shopping.  The Wish List on our website can guide you in the most needed items for each age group.

Toy Delivery – Consider coordinating a few volunteers to help deliver the toys to The Salvation Army’s “North Pole” (Western Fair District Agriplex), ideally no later than December 10^th.   

We are happy to support you with toy pick-up at the end of your drive, or throughout your toy drive if your space is limited.  Contact [email protected] or 519-660-5884 ext. 105 to coordinate a pick-up time.

Thank you for helping us help 6,000 children this Christmas! 

Merry Christmas and God bless you.