Toys For Tots 2021: How To Donate, Apply In Winnetka, Glencoe

WINNETKA, IL — The holiday season is fast approaching, but now is the time to consider donating to a Toys for Tots campaign in the New Trier Township area.

The mission of Toys for Tots is to collect new, unwrapped toys and distribute them to less fortunate children at Christmas. The original Toys for Tots project was founded in 1947 by Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks, and it became a nonprofit public charity at the behest of the Marine Corps in 1991. The organization is still run exclusively by veteran Marines.

This year, there are hundreds of local campaigns either planned or ongoing across the United States. Winnetka, Glencoe and Northfield residents can donate toys, apply for toys and even host a Toys for Tots fundraising event.

In 2020, the local Toys for Tots campaign distributed nearly 79,000 toys to over 70,000 children. The 2021 campaign in Cook County kicked off in October. Yizet Vargas is the Toys for Tots coordinator for Cook County.

Find out more about how to request a toy this year, donate a toy online or sponsor a virtual toy drive.

Local business and public agencies partner with the Marines Toys for Tots Foundation to collect toys throughout the area.

New, unwrapped gifts can be dropped off 24 hours a day at the Public Safety Lobby at Glencoe Village Hall, 325 Hazel Ave., until Dec. 9.

Traditionally, the Wilmette and Winnetka police departments, as well as the Northfield Village Hall and fire station also accept toy drop-offs for the Toys for Tots program.

Donations for the Toys for Tots Foundation and the New Trier Township food pantry are also being collected at Coldwell Banker-Winnetka, 568 Lincoln Ave., during business hours.

For anyone who prefers not to donate in person due to COVID-19 concerns, Toys for Tots has established a virtual “toy box.” Using the virtual toy box allows anyone to donate by purchasing a toy online. Toys will then be distributed across the country and delivered by Toys for Tots.

Local Toys for Tots campaigns are conducted annually in over 800 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to Toys for Tots. Since the program’s inception, the foundation collected and distributed 604 million toys to 272 million children.

The nonprofit also partners with 12 major sponsors that have contributed at least $2 million in toys. The sponsors include Hallmark, the Walt Disney Company, the UPS Store and Kmart.

Toys for Tots allows participants to make a donation in several different ways:

• Donate online
• Donate in memory or in honor
• Donate through the holiday recognition program
• Donate toys
• Donate by mail
• Crowdfunding
• Employer gift matching
• Planned giving
• Supporting through the Native American Program