CINCINNATI — WCPO 9's annual Toy Team 9 toy drive returns Saturday, Dec. 6. We'll be at 14 Walmart locations across the Tri-State from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, accepting toy donations for local organizations.
The drive will collect new, unwrapped toys for several local organizations serving families facing increased financial hardship due to rising costs and inflation. You can find the entire list here.
Good Morning Tri-State anchor Frank Marzullo spoke with many of our longtime Toy Team 9 partners.
Toys for Tots will serve more than 17,000 children in Butler and Warren counties this year. The organization emphasizes that children of all ages need support during the holiday season, including teenagers who are often overlooked.
"For our older kids, a lot of people think that teens are hard to buy for. That is really actually not true if you think about it," a Toys for Tots representative told us.
WATCH: Hear from the organizations your donations will go to
Popular items for teenage girls include hair products, makeup, accessories and nail accessories, while bath and body kits work well for both genders. For teenage boys, model car kits are particularly popular options.
Brighton Center, another original partner in the toy drive, said they've seen many first-time visitors seeking help as families struggle with economic challenges.
"They've never had to walk through our doors to ask for help before, and so we want to be there to provide a place of hope and dignity to be able to partner with families on their journey to reaching their hopes and dreams," Lauren Copeland from Brighton Center said.
Santa Maria, which has served Cincinnati's west side since 1897, also participates in the drive. The organization focuses on helping families achieve independence through multiple programs.
"We have a workforce development program, which is huge to impact the community to get them placed where they need to be to make sure their families are thriving and self-sufficient," Heather Kuhn said. "We have a Stable Families program that helps prevent homelessness and lets the tenants understand tenant rights, understanding housing, and what can be done on their end, and then our childhood education programs from our EveryChild Succeeds through our POP are promoting our preschoolers."
And, obviously, we had to talk to Santa about the joy of giving children a gift and what it means to families during the holiday season.
"I think one of the things that really makes a big difference is knowing as a child that it matters to somebody, and that's really important," Santa said. "The toy itself may not be the important part. It's the act of giving something that says you matter to me, so that's important."
In addition to toy donations, monetary contributions will be matched by the Scripps Howard Fund up to $5,000. Click here to be directed to our money donation page.
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