It's not too late to donate to the Toys for Tots campaign.
"It's more than just the toys. It's telling them someone cares about them," Ed Quirin, chairman of the Toys for Tots Drive in Schuylkill County, said Thursday.
The campaign usually tries to collect between 7,000 and 8,000 toys, Quirin said.
Last year, approximately 7,800 toys donated, according to Quirin.
Capt. Tammy Hench, of the Salvation Army, and Keith Laslow, co-chairman of the Toys for Tots campaign, were with Quirin on Thursday at the Salvation Army on Sanderson Street, each holding a toy.
Quirin and Laslow are members of the Coal Crackers detachment of the Marine Corps League based in Saint Clair.
Most of the new toys go to infants and children as old as 12 who have signed up with the Salvation Army for the giveaway. Other toys can go to children affected by tragedies, such as house fires, Quirin said.
Donation boxes are located in about 140 locations in the county. Quirin and Laslow then give the gifts to the Salvation Army. The donation deadline is Dec. 9 to give the Salvation Army time to wrap the gifts.
"Whatever is collected stays here," Quirin said.
Distribution at the Four Square Gospel Church is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 18 county-wide and Dec. 19 for Pottsville and surrounding areas, Hench said.
"I think over 540 families signed up," she said.
An effort has been ongoing in the county to participate in the program since at least 1975, Quirin said.
The effort began in 1947, when a major in the Marine Corps and Marine Reservists gave out toys to children in need in California. Since 1948, the effort has been nationwide. For more information about Toys for Tots, visit www.toysfortots.org.
Those who want to donate toys or money after Dec. 9 may call 570-429-0789.