Toys For Tots of Kosciusko County helped 3,160 children in 2015. Across the country last year, Marines and volunteers distributed 18 million toys to 7 million less-fortunate children, according to the Toys For Tots summer 2016 newsletter. Local campaigns were conducted in 782 communities covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. The Kosciusko community once again can make Christmas bright for area children this Saturday when the Toys For Tots drive returns to Martin’s Super Market, Warsaw. WNDU television anchor Tricia Sloma will be on hand from 7 to 10 a.m. Warsaw Police Dept. Sgt. and former U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. David Morales, the Toys For Tots Kosciusko County area coordinator, will help accept donations of new toys until 11 a.m. Carolers from Wawasee and Warsaw Community High Schools will be on hand to sing as donations are dropped off. “We’re looking to have some military support” at the drive, he said, including the Marines. Toys For Tots is the only program sponsored by the Department of Defense, though no money is received by the Department. The Kosciusko Fireman’s Association has been collecting toys and will make their delivery Saturday morning. The last day to sign up to receive toys is today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the WPD station. In case-by-case emergency situations, Morales said he will address those families who weren’t able to make the sign-up dates. Toy collection started Thanksgiving weekend and runs through Dec. 17, the day the donations will be delivered to the families. If anyone can’t make the toy drive Saturday, drop-off locations include: Martin’s Super Market; Menard’s; Old National Bank; Marsh; Dental Solutions; Super Geeks, Detroit Street, Warsaw; Reneker’s; Monteith Tire; Walmart; Zoyo; Big R; Align Life, Market Street, Warsaw; Warsaw City Hall; CVS, Warsaw; all Dollar General Stores in the county; Walgreens; Game Stop; Time After Time, Mentone; American Legion Post 223, Syracuse; Warsaw Community Schools; WPD; several shops in The Village at Winona and Beacon Credit Union. Both The Car Company and Best Deal Auto are doing their own toy drives, Morales said. Radio station Willie 103.5 hosted a toy drive from Saturday through today at Big R and Walmart. American Legion Post 223 is doing a fundraiser for Toys For Tots Saturday. It’s a spaghetti dinner. Singer Susie McEntire is returning to Warsaw for the third consecutive year to help support Toys For Tots. The “Country Christmas with Susie McEntire” is scheduled for Dec. 10 in the Lakeview Middle School auditorium. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the free show starting at 7 p.m. While no ticket is required, each attendee is asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy. McEntire, the sister of country music legend Reba McEntire, also is a music recording artist who has “directed her talents to the country gospel side of American roots music, garnering much acclaim from her peers and fans alike,” according to her official website at susiemcentire.com. A big need for Tots For Tots this year are gifts for teenagers and children 2 years old and younger. “The teen group is always the toughest,” Morales said. Trinkets For Teens at Warsaw Community High School and the Lakeview Middle School Student Council is helping to collect gifts for teens. In 2015, Morales said Toys For Tots collected over 8,000 toys and distributed about 7,300 toys. All donations made in Kosciusko stay in the county except for a few families in Marshall County which doesn’t have a Toys For Tots program coordinator. Last year, 12 Marshall County families were assisted. This area’s Toys For Tots program helps cover over 900 square miles between the two counties and a population of about 123,000 people. Morales said over $5,000 was made in monetary donations to the local campaign last year. The goal this year, he said, is “Just to make sure all the families are taken care of and assisted.” He thanked the city of Warsaw for its support. It provided facilities for sorting and distributing toys, along with a location for the sign-ups and the storage of boxes and supplies for the local campaign. He thanked everyone who comes in to volunteer to help sort and distribute toys. “Anybody that is interested in coming in and helping to deliver toys on Dec. 17 can contact me,” Morales said. His contact information is 574-371-5099, Ext. 2367, or email at kosciuskocountyt4t@gmail.com. “We had quite a number of volunteers that came out (last year),” he said. “We had over 75 volunteers that came to help deliver toys from members of emergency services to community members that wanted to come help and give of their time, too, and deliver toys and support Toys For Tots.” If anyone would like to donate 33-gallon-size trash bags, Morales said that would help with sorting and delivering the toys to the families. For more information on Toys For Tots, visit the website at www.toysfortots.org.
