Massive Toy Drive Starts Saturday At WeHa/Farmington Mall

WEST HARTFORD/FARMINGTON, CT — The effort to make sure children of all socioeconomic backgrounds can get the holiday gifts they deserve is so great, the Marines and a helicopter are being called in.

The Westfarms Mall, located in West Hartford/Farmington, 1500 New Britain Ave., West Hartford, announced this week the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys For Tots Foundation and Hartford Healthcare are partnering up with the mall for a large toy drive kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 2.

According to mall officials, the goal is to begin gathering 50,000 new, unwrapped toys "needed to make dreams come true for underserved children in Hartford, Tolland and Litchfield counties."

The shopping center is contributing $1,000 worth of toys toward the goal, according to Westfarms.

Marines will be stationed at the mall with collection points from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.

Meanwhile, Lifestar Helicopter is planning to make a non-emergency appearance at the mall at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to deliver toys spectacularly. It will land in the parking lot.

To help with the day's events, the Marines have drafted some serious help, namely Santa Claus himself will arrive by fire truck to help the Marines cut the red ribbon to kick off the collection.

The Toys for Tots collection is part of the Westfarms Community First Campaign, which is designed to give back to the community for its ongoing support of the mall.

For more information on the Westfarms Mall, click on this link.

For more information on the U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots program, click on this link.

For more information on Hartford Healthcare, click on this link.