Toys for Tots Short on Gifts

With just days until Christmas, Toys for Tots has announced they are 15,000 toys short this year.

While organizers say donations have increased in the last couple of weeks, there is still a shortfall and more toys are needed by Sunday.

According to an article in the Boston Globe, Toys for Tots received requests from 350 Boston-area organizations this year, compared with 290 last year. Two weeks ago, before the entreaty to the public, the Boston office of Toys for Tots still needed about 50,000 toys. As of today, Toys for Tots estimates that only about 15,000 more toys are needed.

“I went to three state police [barracks] today and on Saturday, and we have [large storage bins] to put the toys in, and all three of them were stuffed full,” said Marine Sergeant Matt Laroche, coordinator of the Greater Boston area Toys for Tots. “We’ve done really, really well but we still need some toys.”

Last year, Toys for Tots in Boston collected 138,845 toys. This year, Toys for Tots expects the group to give out about 140,000.

Locally, , , Marblehead Savings Bank, Carlson Real Estate and Tedesco Country Club are collecting toys.