Steele County Toys for Tots Needs Your Help

If you enjoy shopping, and especially shopping for children, this is the opportunity for you. Steele County Toys for Tots, which has been in existence for 37 years here, needs help. Maryanne Higgins, the volunteer coordinator, was on our segment of "Talk of the Town" this morning, and she said they are looking for volunteers to help out with their annual drive, to make sure that every child gets a gift under their Christmas tree.

It takes many, many hands to keep Toys for Tots going, last year there were over 350 volunteers assisting with the shopping, sorting, and distribution of toys for the 5,825 toys that were distributed to the 1,226 children in Steele County. That's over 400 families served. So, yes, they need volunteers to keep the shopping and distribution going.

You can sign up to help out with shopping on Thanksgiving evening, which is November 28th. They will have teams going to both Target and Walmart to get the good deals, and Maryanne said that it usually only takes about an hour or so. They also need volunteers to help out at the distribution event, December 15-18, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna. The distribution event needs help with the following:

• Set-up
• Sorting
• Re-stocking the tables
• Assisting families with shopping
• Helping to take the toys out to the vehicles
• And of course, tear down after the event is over

If you are able to help out with any of their needs, contact Maryanne Higgins at 507-363-6911. You can call or text her. You can also email her at maryannehiggins1955@gmail.com.

If you can't volunteer, but you still want to help, keep in mind that they are also looking for donations and they have their donation boxes up all over Steele County. There are at least 80 boxes out there, and all of the donations made here in Steele County, stay in Steele County.