Christmas Toy Drives Help Families in Need
Whether giving your children gifts this Christmas will be a challenge for you, or you able to help others this year, you need to know about these three amazing programs that serve West Michigan.
Fun Again Toys is a local nonprofit, and Angel Tree & Toys for Tots are national programs. We’ve gathered info on how to participate – for both givers and recipients.
This article focuses on Kent County, but assistance and participation are available throughout West Michigan.
Want to donate items that aren’t toys?
Certain organizations in West Michigan take used item donations and also give back to the community.
Santa Claus Girls
The Kent County program, Santa Claus Girls, is an annual charity that represents the generosity of the community and helps make sure no child is left without a gift under the tree at Christmas.
The program is ran by non-paid volunteers allowing 100% of donations to go directly to the program. On delivery day, over 350 volunteers take on the task of delivering packages to homes in the area!
Each child receives one new article of clothing, one toy, one book, a pair of mittens and a hat.
Ways to Help With Santa Claus Girls
Volunteer
If you want to volunteer, fill in your contact information under the position you’d like to help with.
Make a Donation Online or by Check
Online donations are via credit card.
For check donations, follow the online donation prompt.
They can be made out to Santa Claus Girls and sent to:
Santa Claus Girls of Kent County
P.O. Box 543
Comstock Park, MI 49321
Get Christmas Assistance from Santa Claus Girls
Application Close Date: TBD
Applications for assistance for Kent County residents is open from September through early December.
All applications are taken online.
Toys are distributed December 14th. Approved applicants will be notified of specific distribution details.
On distribution day, approved applicants will have gifts delivered.
Toys for Tots
The U.S. Marine Corp Reserves Toys for Tots program is an annual, national toy drive that collects and distributes toys to less fortunate children at Christmastime.
WZZM is the local media sponsor for Toys for Tots, helping spread the word about the toy drive.
While Toys for Tots is a national program, this article focuses on Kent County in Michigan.
If you are looking for a different Toys for Tots program, the national website is the starting point to find one of our nearly 800 Toys for Tots campaign sites.
Navigate to the menu option “Donate a Toy,” select your state, then the city/county. If the city/county is covered, clicking on that location will take you to a local Toys for Tots website.
Ways to Help With Toys for Tots
Volunteer
If you want to volunteer, email your name and contact information to grtoys4tots@gmail.com
Make a Donation Online or by Check
Online donations are via PayPal or credit card.
Checks can be made out to Tots for Tots and sent to:
Wzzm13
C/O Toys For Tots
645 Three Mile Rd NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49544
Become a Toy Drop Off Site
Drop sites are located across Kent County at local businesses, some libraries, and some fire stations.
Click here to see a list of donation drop sites.
Get Christmas Assistance from Toys for Tots
Application Close Date: 12/1/2024
Applications for assistance for Kent County residents is open from October 1 through early December.
All applications will be taken online this year.
Toys are distributed the Saturday before Christmas. Approved applicants will be notified of specific distribution dates and locations. Check the Toys for Tots website for additional distribution details.
On distribution day, approved applicants will come to choose gifts for their children, ages 0 – 16.
Parents are asked to list suggestions for the items that would interest their child. Families are not guaranteed a specific item and will NOT be allowed to exchange toys.
Angel Tree
The Angel Tree Toy Drive is an annual nationwide Christmas event spearheaded by the Salvation Army’s community centers across the country. This program provides Christmas gifts to thousands and thousands of children across the country each year.
Families register with Angel Tree, indicating the ages and wish list items for their children. This wish list is then shared with community members, who purchase gifts for these families.
In West Michigan, 10 different Salvation Army Corps Community Centers partner with WOOD TV to bring Angel Tree to our area.
Each Angel Tree program is independently run by the Salvation Army Community Center in that West Michigan county.
Participation and instructions for each county’s Angel Tree program are different. This article focuses on Kent County’s Angel Tree program.
To get involved with any other West Michigan counties, reach out to the local Salvation Army or Angel Tree contact listed here.
Ways You Can Help With the Angel Tree Toy Drive
Host an Angel Tree
Volunteer to collect gifts at your business, church, school, office, or organization.
Once you submit your organization’s registration form, your local Angel Tree contact person will be in touch and will get your tags delivered to you within a week of signing up.
After you have your tags, it will be up to you to distribute them by setting up a Christmas tree at your location. You’ll collect new, unwrapped toys and gifts at your location and ultimately transport the toys to a designated Salvation Army collection site.
Give to Angel Tree
STEP 1: Find a participating Angel Tree location on the Angel Tree map
STEP 2: Choose a tag from their Angel Tree.
STEP 3: Purchase an appropriate gift.
STEP 4: Return unwrapped gift to any of the participating Angel Tree locations in West Michigan by mid-December
OR
You may choose to Shop Online using their Amazon or Walmart Wishlists, or make an Angel Tree Donation. Angel Tree Donations are used to buy $20 teen Christmas Gift Cards, put toward food assistance, or used to purchase toys for children.
Get Assistance from the Angel Tree
If you need assistance from the Angel Tree and live in Kent County, contact Kate Meyer at 616-459-3433 or kate.meyer@usc.salvationarmy.org
You may also get information at neighborhood food pantries or call the United Way hotline at 1-800-887-1107.
Those receiving Christmas assistance from the Salvation Army will get:
–A gift card to help with the purchase of Christmas dinner
– One large and one small toy for each child ages 0 to 11
– A gift card to purchase gifts for each child ages 12-16
Fun Again Toys for Everyone (FATE)
Unconfirmed for 2024
If you find yourself swimming in old toys and want to donate them to a new family for the holidays, FATE is ready to take them off of your hands.
Fun Again Toys for Everyone (FATE) is a Grand Rapids area program that launched in 2010. Initially spearheaded by Doris and Brian Toronyi, Dannielle Backus is now the organization’s point person since Toronyis retired.
FATE’s founders, parents of two boys, found they had a basement full of stuff they no longer needed. They explain on their Facebook page:
“A few years ago I was looking around for a charitable organization that would accept gently used toys that would then give them to kids who could use them – sort of “recycle” the toys and give them a new life with new children.
“I couldn’t find any that accepted used toys, just new ones. I could donate them to places like Goodwill or Salvation Army but they would turn around and sell them and I knew that there were families out there that couldn’t even afford to buy food and pay for utilities, let alone even toys.
So, since I couldn’t find an organization that would collect and distribute gently used for free to families that need them, I decided I’d make my own – thus, FATE was born.”
Right before FATE’s fifth Christmas, they received their official 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS.
Now, as FATE grows, help is needed on almost every front, including board members.
Ways You Can Help FATE
Volunteer
FATE needs volunteers to serve on the giveaway committee.
This is a great volunteer opportunity to get involved with our community, to make a positive impact on families and children for the Christmas holiday.
Please PM their Facebook page if you can serve as a committee member from mid-September – late December.
Donate Gently Used Toys or Winter Apparel – or Make a Monetary Donation
Any new or gently used toy or winter apparel item for kids is greatly appreciated. No broken or well-worn items, please.
They accept donations for boys and girls, babies through teens.
It is especially hard for them to find items to give the older kids through teens, so if you have anything to donate in that category, please do.
Send a message to the FATE Facebook Page to find out which of the seven drop-off locations is closest to you. Donations are accepted through Dec 8, 2022.
No items to donate? Monetary donations are accepted and greatly appreciated.
Become a Storage Location
FATE needs a clean storage location to house the truckloads of donations they are expecting!
With next to no operating budget, this place would need to be donated space. However, this would be TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!!
Please PM their Facebook page to join the list of possible storage locations.
Help with Giveaway Day
The toys are distributed at a secret location on Giveaway Day, where parents will come and fill the wish lists of their children. To get ready for Giveaway Day, volunteers are needed to help with the BIG CLEAN UP EVENT where all of the toys are sorted and cleaned.
You can also help by working on setup or takedown for the Giveaway Day event. Only adults can help with this.
It takes a lot of volunteers to help with sorting & set-up before the event day and to serve as “elves” during the event.
Get Christmas Assistance from FATE
Application Close Date: When maximum number is met (300 families for 2022)
Applications for assistance opened on November 17, 2022.
Fill out this form to apply for assistance.
FATE’s objective is to assist families that have unexpectedly found themselves in a situation where they are unable to buy gifts, most often as a result of a loss of work, medical issue or priority financial obligations.
At this time no proof of hardship is required as they rely upon the honesty of the families seeking help.
FATE does, and will continue to, coordinate with other organizations to ensure that as many different families as possible are reached and helped during holidays.
Those that receive gifts from FATE are purposefully selected based upon review of the request. Registering with other organizations will reduce the likelihood of being selected by FATE.
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