Annual Toys for Tots drive

CHICOPEE, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - We here at 22News are having our annual Toys for Tots drive, and we've already gotten a lot of donations.

Our lobby is getting more and more packed by the minute, but we can never have too many toys to give to children in need. We can always use more. Sergeant Michael Pires tells you how to get involved.

Our cutoff date was December 5th for toy requests/. There is a few that are still trickling in, though. We're going is to see if we can help those agencies out.

As of this morning, I think 147 different agencies or organizations that have committed a toy request to us.

We definitely need more toys. Requests are up and donations are down.

From 5 years and younger, we're actually pretty good right now. So 7-year-old boys and girls and above, all the way up to 16, 17. We could definitely use a hand with.

For boys, sports, board games. Board games are universal for girls, too. You know, makeup, hair products, stuff like that, you know. Cds. Anything that, you know, a 16-year-old girl or boy would want.

We have over 300 collection sites across the four western Mass counties. They can bring their unwrapped toys.

We're at the mercy of the community, as far as donations go. We definitely do our best to fulfill and make sure everybody gets something. There are times where it's hard and we just can't do anything.

So which means it's time for you to get involved in the toys for tots program. Come on down to the 22News studios and drop off a new unwrapped toy. It can be anything. Whatever it is. Between now and December 15th, you can come in during the week 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. When it comes to Saturday and Sunday this weekend, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., right here at the 22News studio just off exit 3 off of 391 in Chicopee. You can bring them here. You can bring them to your local Sleepy's, AAA of the Pioneer Valley or any of the other 300-plus drop sites there are. When you come into 22News, you can fill out a raffle ticket that will enter you into a drawing for a grand prize, a tempur-pedic queen size bed set from Sleepy's. The runner up, a AAA travel give certificate which you can use.

Action figures are a great toy. What kid under 12 doesn't like action figures?

Absolutely. You look around here and you see some ironman action figures. There's a lot of really, really cool stuff. Mike, thanks so much for being here. You can get involved in toys for tots. Don't forget to do it. Come on down to the 22News studios or any of the other places.