To many kids, the holiday season means presents, parties and fun with family and friends. However, the reality is that many kids won't have a Christmas this year. Coming from broken homes with little or no money, these kids are often lucky to receive a hot meal, let alone a brightly-wrapped gift. Toy drives are a great way to support a very worthy cause - bringing smiles to the faces of needy children during a magical time of year.
Toy Drives - What Are They?
Toys are collected by volunteers and are distributed to a variety of different charities such as women's and children's shelters. Toy drives are often run by non-profit organizations such as the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and the United Way. They're held in communities all over North America during the holidays, usually a few weeks before Christmas. Ideally, toys are donated unwrapped so that organizers can give them to the appropriate children.
Toy Drives - Help Out at School
Talk to your school's student council or your favorite teacher about running a toy drive. Get everyone to help select a charity that's important to your school. Suggest that students bring a small toy as admission to a dance, sporting event, band concert or carnival. You could also set up a contest within your school to see which class brings in the most toys! Once the toys are collected, round up some parents and teachers to help load up the toys and deliver them to your chosen charity.
Toy Drives - Help Out in Your Community
Visiting your local community center is a great way to find out where the toy drives are happening this year. Alternately, search the web for a site which allows you to type in your zip or postal code, finding the toy drives in your area. If you don't have the money to spend on buying a toy, offer to donate your time by helping to sort and hand out toys at a church or TV station, which often hold toy drives at Christmas.
Toy Drives - Help Out at Home
Ask your parents to give a toy to a local charity instead of buying you a Christmas present. This might seem like a big sacrifice, but it would make a huge difference in one child's Christmas. Just think of how many toys there would be for the needy if every kid did this. Now that's something to consider!
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- Gift Wrap Centers
- Christmas Shoebox Project
- Soup's On at the Soup Kitchen!
- More Great Volunteering Opportunities!
