Toys For Tots In Full Swing In Waltham: Dates To Know

WALTHAM, MA — While you’re checking off holiday gifts for family members, don’t forget the kids who aren’t on anyone’s shopping list and pick up some items for the Toys for Tots campaign in Waltham.

Sponsored by the Marine Corps Reserves, Toys for Tots is organized locally in Waltham by Toys for Tots Coordinator SSgt. Tyler Short.

Last year in Middlesex and Essex Counties, 120,527 toys were distributed to 80,172 children who might not otherwise have gotten any Christmas gifts. Nationally, about 625 million toys were handed out to 291 million kids.

Besides dropping off new, unwrapped toys at several drop-off locations, people who want to support the campaign can also donate online. The deadline for drop-offs in Waltham is Dec. 11, unless otherwise noted. Here’s what you need to know:

• Brookline Bank, 456 Main St., 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday
• Lansing Building Products, 19 Athletic Field Rd., 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Republic Plumbing Supply, 72 Felton St., 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Windsor Village at Waltham (deadline Dec. 9), 976 Lexington St., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
• CubeSmart, 96 Linden St., 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is an IRS-recognized nonprofit public charity created in 1991. The foundation, created in 1991, uses 97 percent of every donation to buy toys for children in need.