Charities collect Christmas toys amid COVID-19
Photo courtesy of Michael Pallesco
Thousands of toys collected last year for Toys for Tots were sorted at Washington Alliance Church.
Photo courtesy of Michael Pallesco
Dozens of bikes were collected last year during the annual Toys for Tots drive throughout Washington and Greene counties.
Photo courtesy of Michael Pallesco
Thousands of toys collected last year for Toys for Tots were sorted at Washington Alliance Church.
Photo courtesy of Amber Imhoff
Donated toys were collected under a Christmas tree at the Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe, as part of the Salvation Army’s Treasures for Children toy drive.
No shouting, crying or pouting – Santa’s still coming to town this year despite COVID-19.
Local charity organizations will take extra precautions this year to still collect toys for families in need this Christmas.
The annual Toys 4 Tots collection throughout Washington and Greene counties is starting up. Regional coordinator Mike Pallesco said he hopes to send out all the collection boxes to businesses by the end of October.
Last year, they were able to serve more than 4,000 families, Pallesco said. This year, they hope to maintain that goal, though he suspects they’ll get fewer donations due to COVID-19. He said that typically, businesses and nonprofits will host events to “accumulate toys” for the drive, but this year, many of them have been canceled because of COVID-19.
“Some companies will donate money so we can go buy toys,” Pallesco said.
He said some companies have decided to continue their annual participation, including the Steel City Harley Davidson’s bike run and collection. The North Strabane Township Fire Department, in partnership with the Meadows Casino, will also collect toys.
Register of Wills James Roman announced at Thursday’s Washington County commissioners’ meeting that his 22nd annual Toys for Tots drive will include donation boxes at the courthouse and Courthouse Square office building.
Pallesco suspects they’ll have the same number of families signing up for toys.
“I don’t know whether the need has gone up,” he said.
Families will be able to sign up from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. four Saturdays in November in the Washington Crown Center, near Rural King.
“The problem will be not having quite as many toys as we usually have,” Pallesco said. “But we’re going to give it a shot. We’re going to do everything we can to hit our goals.”
Distribution day – Dec. 19 at Washington Alliance Church – may look a little different this year, too, he said. Only so many volunteers will be allowed in the building at one time and will have to wear masks and social distance.
Pallesco said he’s also looking for additional volunteers. Anyone interested can contact him at 724-249-5494.
The Washington Salvation Army is taking similar precautions for its annual Treasures for Children drive. For the volunteers there, it’s going to mean more work to ensure safety and sanitization, according to Cmdr. Amber Imhoff.
“We’re going to have to work in much smaller groups to sort toys,” she said. “It’s definitely going to require more days of sorting for us, but we know the need is there, so we’re going to continue to serve.”
The collected toys will have to sit for 72 hours, and be sorted by volunteers wearing masks and gloves, Imhoff said.
The program features “wish list” tags on Christmas trees set up in businesses. People shop for the children on the tag and donate the gifts. Last year they served about 1,200 children.
With many participating companies working from home right now, Imhoff said they’ve had to get creative with how they’ll collect toys. She said they have virtual tags listed on their website, so folks can participate completely online if they choose.
“People can either ship gifts to the Salvation Army or drop them off,” Imhoff said.
They’ll also put the physical tag trees out a little earlier, and they have an online registry with Walmart. On distribution day, registered families with have a scheduled time for a drive-thru pickup.
“We’ve got distribution down to a science now because we did a back-to-school backpack and supplies distribution in August,” Imhoff said.
Families can register for Treasures for Children starting the first week of November at the Washington Crown Center. After the first Saturday of December, they can’t guarantee wish lists, only age-appropriate gifts.
“We have never turned anybody away whose needed Christmas assistance,” Imhoff said.
Also in conjunction with Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, it was noted that Washington County Children and Youth Services will be asking youngsters to prepare a three-item wish list that will be recorded on tags to aid donors in their fulfillment.
The agency’s collection began in 2013, said Kimberly Rogers, Washington County administrator of human services. Last year, CYS collected more than 3,000 gifts of toys, sports and fitness equipment and clothing for children.
Staff writer Barbara S. Miller contributed to this story.