Toys For Tots: How To Help In Arlington Heights

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — 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 Arlington Heights.

Sponsored by the Marine Corps Reserves since 1991, Toys for Tots is organized locally in Arlington Heights by Carmen Turrubiartes-Reyes.

Last year in Cook County, 114,489 toys were distributed to 87,536 children who might not otherwise have gotten any Christmas gifts. To date, the Toys for Tots program has distributed 677 million toys to 301 million children.

Besides dropping off new, unwrapped toys at several drop-off locations, people who want to support the campaign can also donate online. Here’s what you need to know in Arlington Heights:

The Arlington Heights Police Department's Toys for Tots campaign runs through Dec. 14. Officials are asking residents to bring new, unwrapped toys to the Arlington Heights Police Department at 200 E. Sigwalt St., or Village Hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, for donation to Toys for Tots Marine Corp Reserve. Email the police department with questions. "We ask that you please donate an item other than a stuffed animal, as these items cannot be donated to Toys for Tots," officials said in a news release.

Arlington Heights firefighters are also collecting toys through Dec. 15. The Arlington Heights Fire Department is teaming up with the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization, as well as School District 25, to help students and families in the district. Bring new, unopened toys for donation to the Toys for Tots Chicagoland box drop-offs in Arlington Heights at:

• Fire Station 1 — 300 East Sigwalt St.
• Fire Station 2 — 1150 N. Arlington Heights Road
• Fire Station 3 — 2000 South Arlington Heights Road
• Fire Station 4 — 3030 North Arlington Heights Road
• Public Works Department — 222 N. Ridge Ave.

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.