Gilmer County’s 2022 Toys for Tots campaign has officially begun.
The Marine Corps Reserve campaign, which served 1,587 Gilmer children in 2021, started a little earlier than usual this year, noted Ret. U.S. Marine Sgt. AJ LeCompte, Gilmer Toys for Tots coordinator.
“We’re expecting (to provide toys for) 1,800 children this year. It’s already been quite busy,” said LeCompte. “With the economy and people having to pay more for groceries, there could be a lot more people who can’t afford Christmas presents for their children this year.”
The local Toys for Tots headquarters is now located in the Gilmer County Civic Center space formerly used by the Boys and Girls Club.
“It’s county owned, and it’s through the county that we’re able to (use) the building,” said LeCompte.
Applications for Toys for Tots assistance can be filled out and dropped off at the 1561 South Main Street headquarters at any time, LeCompte confirmed. The local Toys for Tots team began accepting applications in October.
“Our building has applications 24/7 in a black box right next to our door. We also have a table set out under the covered area. It’s similar to what we had the past two years,” LeCompte said.
“We also have (applications) at the Faith, Hope and Charity Recycle Store right inside the front door of the store. They’re open Wednesday-Saturday. The last place we have them is at the food pantry. If someone goes there on Wednesdays, they can fill one out there,” he added.
There will be 22 toy donation boxes put out around the county, LeCompte said. A complete list of drop-off box locations is available online at ellijay-ga.toysfortots.org.
This year brings the 75th anniversary of Toys for Tots, LeCompte noted. The 2022 toy drive collection boxes feature new QR codes, which can be scanned to learn more about or make donations to the local Toys for Tots campaign.
“The first QR code takes you directly to our donation page. By using the QR code, (monetary) donations are put on our purchasing card much faster than cash. The second QR code takes you directly to our Toys For Tots Ellijay webpage,” said LeCompte. “I’d really like folks to know about these QR codes because, since everybody uses their phones, this will be easy for them to do.”
Donations of new, unwrapped toys are welcomed, but monetary donations can be used to buy more toys at wholesale prices, noted LeCompte. Money raised in Gilmer County is used to buy toys for children in this county, he added. Per official Toys for Tots guidelines, 97 cents out of every dollar has to go directly to buying toys.
“We’re more prone to ask for funds than toys because I can get them cheaper than what people can buy them for,” LeCompte said. “We started accepting monetary donations in August because I knew, from the national wholesalers, that there was going to be a real problem getting toys this year. The cost of toys was also cheaper then than it is now because transportation costs have caused everything to go up.”
A raffle sponsored by Faith, Hope and Charity is raising money for the local toy drive. Raffle tickets are currently being sold, and LeCompte said he plans to sell them at upcoming Veterans Day events and the Light Up Ellijay festivities.
“Every single business and restaurant on the square and the streets that go from the square donated an item or gift certificate to go in the four gift baskets we’re raffling. We now have $1,800 worth of merchandise for these gift baskets,” he said. “We reach into that hat four times (to draw the winners), so you actually get four chances to win.”
A Christmas decoration display will soon go up on the lawn in front of the Civic Center, which will draw attention to the new location of the Gilmer Toys for Tots headquarters.
“We’re getting several outdoor decorations donated by local residents. It looks like the Christmas display will be quite extensive since several volunteers are going to be involved in setting it up and using their past experience in such setups,” LeCompte said.