Batavia Access Toy Drive Looks For New Home After Longtime Space Was Demolished

BATAVIA, IL — The Batavia Access Toy Drive is in search of a new, permanent home, and Batavia officials are urging the community to step up to help the nearly eight-decades-old program.

The Toy Drive was displaced from its longtime home on Webster Street this fall when the building was demolished due to required remediation and demolition in a TIF area.

The drive dates to 1948, when volunteer firefighters began repairing donated toys to gift to children of families in need.

The all-volunteer program doesn't have funds to purchase property or pay rent, according to the city, which has helped the Toy Drive find a space in the past but "no longer has the resources to continue doing so on its own," according to a news release.

"The City has been proud to support the Toy Drive over the years, but our resources and staff time have to be directed toward core City services," City Administrator Laura Newman said in a statement. "That doesn't mean we've stopped caring about this program or the families it serves. We want to help connect the Toy Drive with a business, congregation, or resident who can offer what the City no longer can, and we know Batavia has that kind of generosity."

The Toy Drive requires a 7,000-square-foot space beginning in January 2027. It would be used for year-round storage and for its annual December distribution event. The Toy Drive provides age-appropriate toys, books, games, puzzles, hats, scarves and mittens to local children each holiday season.

The program is covered for the 2026 season thanks to Gem Lighting, which provided space for this year's collection and distribution.

"We're grateful to Gem Lighting for helping us get through one more season," Brittany Bailey-Cole, a fourth-generation volunteer with the Toy Drive, said in a statement. "My grandmother, Mildred Bailey started helping with this drive when it was still firefighters fixing up old toys, and my family has been part of it ever since. We don’t want to see it end on our watch, but we can’t do it without a place to call home."

Mayor Jeffery Schielke urged the community to "step up the way it always has."

"This isn't about the City walking away from a good cause," Schielke said in a statement. "It's about trusting Batavia to do what it's always done; take care of its own."

Businesses, property owners, or residents with space to offer or ideas for how the community might sustain the program independently going forward should call the City of Batavia at 630-454-2000.