Toy Drives Seek To Make Holidays A Time For Needy To Celebrate

The Salvation Army, Suisun City Police and are setting out with toy drives to help needy families make the holiday season a time to celebrate.

With a commitment to helping 900 families, the Salvation Army staked out the old City Hall at the Mall location to set up a headquarters for its Angel Tree giving program, with trees and tags displaying wish lists for needy children. Eco-Delight Coffee also has Angel Tree tags residents can use to help in the program.

Residents can take a tag, buy a gift, then drop the gift off at the Salvation Army’s mall location or its location on Missouri Street.

"It's kind of that sentiment that it takes a village to raise a child,” said Salvation Army Captain Jonathan Harvey. “It takes a community to help take care of those who are less fortunate."

The deadline for that toy drive is Dec. 15, but if residents miss that deadline there’s always the route of financial contributions to the Salvation Army through its red kettle program, with its own website that can take donations at www.onlineredkettle.org/solanocounty.

Suisun City Police are getting back into the holiday spirit this year with Code-Kid, its toy drive that uses the help of local schools to identify needy children whose families need some help this year.

The program has 18 kids on its list right now, said Pam Greenwood, Suisun City Police Community Officer.

Participants can drop off toys at the police station at 701 Civic Center Blvd. during lobby hours between 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, or at 333 Corporate Plaza Dr., Suite 140 between 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The last day to donate is Dec. 17.

“We had to pull our bin from the (Suisun City) Starbucks location,” Greenwood said, but this year the It’s It Family Cookie Company is also participating.

Items should be for youth ages 0-14 years old. Families with infants can use clothing, formula and diapers as well. Here are some of the additional items the drive accepts:

• Toys, bikes & tricycles for all ages
• Clothing appropriate for ages 0-12 months and 1-14 years
• Hair accessories, curling irons, blow dryers, hair brushes
• DVDs, CDs, Books
• Slippers, pajamas, purse, jewelry, sunglasses, belts and accessories
• Movie passes, electronics, sports equipment perfume and cologne
• Fast food gift certificates

Suisun City Firefighters are having trouble finding donations this year, most likely due to the down economy.

“We’re way down on toys and donations this year so we’ll take what we can get,” Chief Mike O’Brien said. The deadline to donate for this year's drive is Dec. 15. Toys donated after that will be used for next year's drive.

The fire department only collects new, unwrapped toys, and does not accept bikes. Anyone who wishes to donate a bike can do so through the police toy drive.

O'Brien told Patch last year that 396 toys were distributed to Suisun City children in 2008 and in 2009 they donate 405 toys.

Donations for the fire department's toy drive should be for children 0 to 12 years of age. Here are some of the locations the fire department accepts toys:

• Ace Hardware, 252 Sunset Ave., Suisun City 
• A&J's Pub and Grill, 605 Main Street, Suisun City
• Fire Station, Pintail Drive & East Wigeon Way
• City Hall, 701 Civic Center Blvd.

For more information residents can call the fire station at 421-7205.