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It’s just a little more than a month until Christmas, and 980 CJME’s 56th Santas Anonymous is back in town.
The annual toy drive aims to ensure every kid in Regina has a present under the tree on Christmas morning.
Read more:
- ‘Their eyes glisten:’ Santas Anonymous helps families in need
- ‘Spread the joy:’ Around 1,600 families helped by Santas Anonymous this year
- Behind the lights: How Saskatoon’s Enchanted Forest comes to life
Salvation Army Lieutenant Tim Fraser said on the Greg Morgan Morning Show that there’s a growing need for donations this year.
Listen here for the full interview:
“We understand families are struggling this year,” said Fraser. “We’re seeing more and more families that we typically wouldn’t see because, as we know, with the increase of food costs and everything else that we’re having to purchase, families that probably wouldn’t normally ask for help are asking for help.”
Fraser said people who need help could be anyone — from your next-door neighbour, to someone at your work, or someone you go to school with. He explained that 1,500 families have already signed up for Santas Anonymous.
“We opened up registration in early November, within 48 hours, registration had closed because we had already hit the 1,500 (families) mark,” he said.
“We’ve got a small wait list that we’ve taken if we have toys that are left over that we can help those families, because we want to make sure that we can help as many families as we can.”
You can help make sure every kid in Regina wakes up to a present under the tree by donating a new, unwrapped toy and placing it in one of the many donation bins throughout the city until Dec. 11.
A map of donation bin locations can be found here.
Toys are being collected for children ages 0 to 12. Here is a breakdown of suggestions, by age:
- 0 to 2: Plush toys, bath toys, blocks, Fisher-Price, Little People
- 3 to 8: Lego, puzzles, dolls, easy-to-read books, dress-up clothes
- 9 to 12: Lego, board games, craft kits, science kits, sports equipment
You can also donate cash here, to help Santas Anonymous reach its goal of raising $15,000.
Fraser said they have to rely on donations for covering the cost of wrapping paper.
“We hope that we have enough, and when we don’t have enough, sometimes we have to go buy (toys), so that’s why we rely on the monetary donations as well,” he said.
More than 65,000 toys have been donated since the program launched in 1969.
