There is expected to be an increased need in families seeking assistance this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. P-J file photo

The annual kick-off meeting for the Toys for Tots organization occurred virtually, with members discussing their mission for this holiday season.

Officials with Toys for Tots are anticipating that local toy collections will be negatively impacted by the pandemic in addition to a significant increase in families seeking assistance this holiday season.

The team, including Heather C. Brown, assistant executive director for the Resource Center; Terri Johnson, TRC’s director of employment and community-based services; Patrick Smeraldo, independent service coordinator for Chautauqua Connections Inc.; and many other volunteers, has a mission like every year to collect new unwrapped toys and distribute them to less fortunate children at Christmas.

Their goal is to, through the gift of a new toy, help bring the joy of Christmas and send a message to less fortunate children.

“It gives a message of hope to the less-fortunate youngsters,” Brown said.

“There’s so many things in our community and society right now to be concerned about, and the burden that bears and the excessive amount that that probably bears on children, if they’re able to just have one gift under the tree, it brings hope.”

Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, a not-for-profit public charity is the fundraising, funding and support organization for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Since 1947, Toys for Tots has distributed 584 million toys to 7.3 million children. In 2019, 18.6 million toys were gifted. Local campaigns were conducted in over 800 communities covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

Though known primarily as a Christmas charity, Toys for Tots distributed 2 million toys in response to COVID-19-affected families during spring and summer of this year.

“Locally, we distributed approximately 1,000 books to students in our area, as well as 75 toys to babies through an initiative with the United Way,” Brown said.

For this holiday season, despite the pandemic, Toys for Tots plans to conduct a traditional holiday campaign collecting and distributing toys to less fortunate children. In Chautauqua County, Marine Toys for Tots has been coordinated for 19 years now, as a “Local Community Organization,” in partnership and close collaboration with The Resource Center and Chautauqua Connections.

In 2019, 3,289 children from 1,315 families in Chautauqua County received toys. All funds raised and toys collected in the county stay in the county.

“This is going to be a difficult year, more so than ever before for so many families so this is critically important this year,” said state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay. “I also wanted to point out that when I first toured businesses when I was county executive, Mike Roberts (volunteer) was most proud of showing me the warehouse and the effort that they make for Toys for Tots.”

Applications for families in need started online on Oct. 2 and will close on Dec. 13. Applications for agencies, community groups, schools started online on Oct. 2 and will close Dec. 4. All volunteers can sign up at signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CAFA928AAF4C25-volunteers.

As a normal part of their plans, collection boxes will be limited at sites throughout the county and fundraisers will also be conducted. One of their fundraisers, “Fri-YAY” at the Southern Tier Distillery already commenced on Oct. 2. Other fundraisers include their “Non-Event Event,” drive through toy drop off events on Saturdays in November: Nov. 7 at Foote Avenue Plaza; Nov. 21 at Kirk’s Jewelers in Fredonia; and Nov. 28 at the Chautauqua Mall.

“We cannot do what we do without the support of local business partners and community partners,” Johnson said. “We have one in particular who has been our champion for the last five years and we could not do what we do without him.”

Mike Roberts, owner of Allied Alarm and “Toy Central” has been volunteering for the organization for years and lets them use two of his buildings during the holiday season. “It is my privilege and honor to host Toys for Tots again for 2020,” he said. “Imagine a child who doesn’t have hope. She gets up on Christmas morning and there’s an unexpected gift there from one of the generous people in our community, that gives that child hope. … They say it’s better to give than receive, but it’s I who has received from the time with Toys for Tots. What I get in return are the smiles from Patrick, Terri, and Heather’s faces every time they walk in the building. It’s the joy that I see on the teams that come in and do work because they are giving back, and we know how good it feels to give back. We don’t get to see the smile on the children’s faces, but we get to see the smiles on the volunteers. Three thousand children will have hope because this community has done what it always does, it gives when it sees a need.”

Other ways the community can support the organization include monetary donations, which can always be made online at jamestown-ny.toysfortots.org, being sure to indicate Chautauqua County and checks can be made out to “Toys for Tots” and mailed to 200 Dunham Avenue, Jamestown, NY 14701.