Bucks County Toys For Tots Sees Greater Need

NEWTOWN, PA — Facing a shortage of toys and resources, Bucks County Toys For Tots is hoping the community can help them achieve their goal of serving thousands of families this holiday season.

Kevin Miller, a former staff sergeant in the Marine Corps, has been the organization's lead coordinator for over two decades, but his involvement dates back to his childhood, when his father was a reservist in the Marine Corps. Over the years, he's had to dip into his own personal finances to meet the needs of the organization, but Miller is currently out of work, and that well is running dry.

"At this point, I'm out of work," Miller said. "I do use a significant amount of my own funds to keep the program going. I can't do that this year."

Miller recently cleared a major hurdle after securing a warehouse space in Newtown, one of three in the county used to store toys before they are picked up by organizations like Bucks County Children & Youth and The Salvation Army, who get them in the hands of families that need them.

With families cutting their budgets during the coronavirus pandemic, he knows why donations are down this year. At the same time, with more economically distressed families, the need for toys, gift cards and monetary donations is even greater.

As of Monday night, the all-volunteer organization had collected about 2,800 toys across the county, on top of 3,100 toys that Miller purchased himself. So far, they've approved toy requests for more than 3,800 children, and with an average of four toys donated per child, Toys for Toys is still short of its goal for this year.

In 2019, the organization donated more than 30,000 toys to more than 7,500 children.

"There's no question about it, our toy collections are significantly down right now," Miller said.

Along with monetary donations, the organization is looking for more toys, particularly for children in the 0-2 and 11-15 age range. The final day to donate toys is Thursday, Dec. 10.

For more information, including a list of drop-off locations and a link to donate, visit them online at Buckscountypa.toysfortots.org or on Facebook.

This story is part of Patch's Headlining Hope series, which profiles local nonprofits and charitable organizations in need of volunteers and resources. If you know about a local organization that should be profiled, contact peter.blanchard@patch.com