Smooch Boutique To Hold Toys for Tots Drive Saturday

Algonquin's Smooch Boutique is hosting a Toys for Tots drive on Saturday, Dec. 11 from noon to 3 p.m.

Bring in an unwrapped toy and it will be distributed to needy children in the Algonquin community. The U.S. Marines will collect toys, and Santa Claus will also be making an appearance.

Smooch organized the event with former Marine Anna Holyst-Sourile, an Algonquin resident and Toys for Tots coordinator. Holyst-Sourile is also the owner of Algonquin-based Artibility jewelry studio and a Smooch customer.

"We chose to do this event because we've had such an amazing response from the community since we opened," said Audra Whitesell, who owns Smooch with Gina Gerardi. "We were just discussing some ideas about ways we could give back to the community and Anna's car pulled up with the Toys for Tots sticker on it. We thought, 'What a terrific way to give back!'"

Holyst-Sourile will attend on Saturday to collect the donations for the Toys for Tots Foundation. Both Gerardi and Whitesell are longtime Algonquin residents who founded the store with women and teens in mind. Smooch, which features trendy clothing and accessories by up-and-coming designers, is located at 2731 W. Algonquin Road. Call 847-658-7101 or visit the Smooch website for more information.