Salvation Army of Collier County kicks off annual Christmas toy drive

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Help Santa out this year on his mission to bring joy to every child worldwide.

The Salvation Army of Collier County has kicked off its annual Christmas toy drive, and you won’t have to travel far to get involved.

There are more than 125 locations where toys can be dropped off. WINK News reporter Valentina LaFranca visited one of them, Greater Naples Fire Rescue.

The Salvation Army’s goal for this year is to help 8,000 children.

Greater Naples Fire District ran the county’s longest continuous holiday toy drive. 45 years long to be exact.

Tiffany Wood, the Greater Naples Fire District’s public information officer, said, “Back then, it was a family picnic where firefighters would come and bring a gift, and we would set up the toys, just like they do now, with the Salvation Army, and families could come and pick out gifts.”

In 2021, they partnered with the Salvation Army after seeing the need and partnered with Toys for Tots. They hope to help 8,000 kids for Christmas this year.

At the Christmas cheer toy shop, they’ve already begun selling gifts for infants to kids up to 12 years old, but how do the toys get here?

“We have about 150 businesses right now that have boxes, and we have about 240 boxes out in the community. So we will be going back out on December 12 and 13th to pick those up,” said Sarah Llanes, a Corps Mission Associate with the Salvation Army.

Greater Naples Fire’s truck beds will transform into Santa’s sleigh to help.

“We want to keep the magic alive for them. We want kids all around Collier County that maybe are struggling. Their families are struggling. We want them to know that we’re not only here for them in an emergency; we’re also here during the holidays to help their families if they are in need,” said Wood.

And with a larger goal than previous years, Llanes said they need more help filling these boxes.

“I’m getting more emails from people who are living in hotels that need help with toys this year. Schools are asking for help. So we just are seeing a greater need, which means we have to be able to take in more donations,” said Llanes.

The last day to donate is December 16th.

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