The Philly Toys for Tots program doesn’t have enough toys this year. They’re asking for more.
Requests are high, but not enough toys are coming in.
The Philadelphia Toys for Tots program is low on toys.
The nonprofit, which is run by volunteers under the auspices of the Marine Corps Reserve, said numbers are trending downward compared to prior years.
“There are a lot of requests for toys,” said volunteer Jennifer Malazita, manager of the Toys for Tots warehouse in Bristol. “But the toys are not coming in like they used to. We’re low on toys for every age child.”
A total of 32,000 toys have been distributed in the city of Philadelphia since last month, when the campaign began, Malazita said.
Of that inventory, 3,000 went to a Philadelphia Toys for Tots longtime partner, the Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Nonviolence Inc., for its own distribution. The rest has gone to other nonprofits. But while a total of 413 nonprofits have asked for toys, the campaign gave to just 187 before being compelled to turn off the supply to save some for individuals, Malazita said.
At this point, there are 2,300 toys left, “and that’s not a lot,” Malazita said. Last year, the Philadelphia campaign distributed nearly 77,000 toys to 55,000 children, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Malazita attributed the shortfall to a “difficult economy.” She added, “People are struggling and find it hard to give.”
Fewer workplace donations
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Guillermo Rodriguez, assistant coordinator of the Philadelphia campaign, said other factors might also be at work.
This year, there are fewer sites with Toys for Tots collection boxes, typically set up in Center City office buildings, smaller stores, and family run businesses, Rodriguez said. He added, “Normally, we have more places asking for boxes. But fewer places are.”
On top of that, there are fewer stores to begin with, in part because of a faltering economy, Malazita said.
Further, many specific sites, such as schools and churches, operate their own toy drives, possibly siphoning supply from Toys for Tots, people who run nonprofits suggested.
Also, the toy distribution’s October start was one month earlier than the normal November kickoff, Rodriguez said. “But many places are starting to collect toys just now,” he added, creating a deficit.
Throughout the United States, the Marines run approximately 860 Toys for Tots campaigns, Malazita said. This is the 76th year of the program.
For more information on how to help or to request a toy, go to Philly Toys for Tots at https://philadelphia-pa.toysfortots.org/.