Toys for Tots donation deadline is Dec. 15

Dec. 15 is the last day to contribute new, unwrapped toys to the Beaufort County Toys for Tots campaign.

On that day, volunteers with Washington (noon) Rotary will begin picking up the toys.

These donated items — Christmas wishes of needy children throughout the county — will be distributed to recipients’ families on Dec. 18, Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 101 N. Bonner St., Washington.

This year, 825 children from Beaufort County are signed up to receive gifts through the program, said Lisa Woolard, executive director of the Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children in Washington.

“It’s about 100 kids more than we had last year,” Woolard said. “Obviously, there is a need.”

Parents or guardians designated to pick up the toys must have registered during the sign-up period that ran from Nov. 28 through Dec. 2, must be on the sign-up list and must bring a photo ID to the church on the distribution days.

Also, Woolard and other volunteers ask donors to avoid neglecting the upper and lower ranges of the birth-to-12-year-old age range for Toys for Tots.

“Remember the very small children because we have a lot of children that are very young,” she said. “We don’t want to give anybody an inappropriate toy.”

She advised contributors to be mindful of possible choke hazards or other toy-safety issues that may arise with some gifts.

It’s a little early to tell how well the charitable drive is going overall, said Rich Morin, Beaufort County’s Toys for Tots coordinator.

“I think this weekend should be a telltale weekend,” said Morin, an unpaid coordinator who’s giving his free time to the program.

Some locations are seeing strong deliveries, he shared, pointing to a Thursday gathering of Beaufort County book clubs at the Washington Yacht & Country Club.

“They brought in a lot of toys today,” he said, adding, “It’s early to tell. It’s tough times, really, to tell.”

The message here is keep giving, Morin agreed.

“It’s taken some creative efforts on behalf of a lot of businesses, groups and clubs to get more toys donated,” he said.

The county’s Toys for Tots undertaking is led by Partnership for Children and Washington (noon) Rotary in cooperation with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

For more information on Beaufort County’s Toys for Tots, call Woolard at 252-975-4647, ext. 3.