Still Time to Donate to Bronxville's Toys for Tots

Don't let the fact that its Christmas Eve keep you from donating to Toys for Tots. Toys collected up until tonight will be distributed to communities that celebrate Three Kings Day on January 6.

Bronxville resident Steve Ircha has details:

Look for festive boxes around the village where you can drop off toys for kids of all ages. The Bronxville Troop 5 Boy Scouts is hosting a toy drive for the holidays through the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, a non-profit organization.

For the second year in a row, Steve's son, Steven Ircha Jr., is coordinating the effort after a successful run in 2011.

"The community responded very generously last year, donating over 500 toys to the Bronxville campaign," Steven said in a statement. "Once again we would like to encourage people to spread holiday cheer to some of the more than 16 million children living in poverty in the United States."

New and unwarpped toys of all types are accepted in the campaign (for ages zero to 18), but "gifts for teenage boys and girls are at the top of the list," Steven noted.

There are drop-off boxes at many local businesses and places of Worship:  Value Drugs, Bronxville Fitness Club, Christ Church, Peoples Bank and many others.

"This year, because of Sandy and it’s destruction, there will be a larger number of desperate parents trying to determine how to provide Christmas gifts for their Children,” Bill Grein, Major, USMC (Ret), vice president of Toys For Tots said in the statement.

“We intend to be there for these unfortunate families. Why should the children who just lost everything lose their hope and belief in Santa as well?”

The scouts will also be accepting donations in the form of checks made out to "Toys for Tots."