Toys for Tots seeking monetary donations

This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Loudoun County Toys for Tots program will be purchasing toys, rather than collecting toys. Although this is a change from the usual Loudoun County Toys for Tots program, the goal remains the same – to ensure that each child receives a new toy for Christmas.

The best way to support the Loudoun County Toys for Tots program this season is through monetary donations. To make donations by check, make them payable to Toys for Tots and mail them to: Toys for Tots, c/o Marine Corps League, P.O. Box 162, Purcellville, VA 20134. Checks may also be dropped off at the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg. Additional locations for checks to be dropped off will be posted on the Loudoun County Toys for Tots website as they become available.

To donate online, visit the local Loudoun County Toys for Tots website and click on the “Donate Local” red button on the top right of the home page http://loudoun-va.toysfortots.org

To allow enough time to order the toys and have them shipped out, ideally, donations should be received no later than mid-November.

Businesses and other organizations collecting $3,000 or more should email Loudoun.VA@ToysforTots.org, and, if they wish, a Marine in Dress Blues and Santa Claus will visit their location to accept the donations. A W-9 form will be provided to businesses donating by corporate check.

Each season, approximately 300 volunteers sort, count, pack, and distribute 26,000 to 30,000 toys, assisting more than 8,000 children. But this year it is not possible to have groups of volunteers working together in the warehouse, which is critical for the Toys for Tots program to be successful. In addition, the Loudoun County fire stations, which have been the largest public toy drop-off locations, currently restrict access to on-duty personnel only.

So, this season, Loudoun County Toys for Tots has partnered with four local non-profit organizations (Help for Others, LINK, Mobile Hope, and The Salvation Army).

Other non-profit organizations and individual families requesting toys are provided information on how to register through one of the above four partnering organizations.

Once registration is completed, each of the four partnering organizations will provide Loudoun County Toys for Tots with their total number of children signed up.

Loudoun County Toys for Tots will then order the toys on line, and/or work directly with local stores, and have the toys shipped directly to each of the four partnering organizations, and/or have the toy orders ready for pick-up by the organizations at one of the local stores.

Loudoun County Toys for Tots representatives will be present to check the toy orders when they are received or ready for pick-up to confirm that they are correct.

Each of the four partnering organizations will then distribute the toys to the families on their scheduled distribution dates.

Our communities have generously supported the Loudoun County Toys for Tots program each year, both by donating toys and with monetary donations, allowing all toy requests to be fulfilled.

“Our mission is simply that every child deserves a Christmas,” said Frank Holtz Toys for Tots Coordinator for Loudoun County.