Hanover-Adams Toys for Tots need on rise during first weeks of 2024 registration

The annual Hanover-Adams Marine Corps League Toys for Tots drive is seeing an unprecedented number of families in need this year, organizers said.

Within just a week of registration for toy distribution opening on Oct. 1, the program had more than 350 families and over 2,000 kids signed up, Hanover-Adams Toys for Tots coordinator Chris Bunty shared.

Just a week later, Bunty told the Evening Sun, the program already had more than 450 families and over 3,500 children registered to receive toys.

In comparison, Bunty notes, the program had 862 families and 4,600 kids in the entire 2023 season, a number he expects that this year will surpass in the next two weeks, with six weeks of registration remaining as families in need are able to sign up until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

With so many families in need, Bunty stressed the need for donors to help the program to make Christmas brighter for these thousands of children.

The program has more than 290 locations around the Hanover-Adams area where donors can drop off unwrapped and unopened toys into the program's collection bins, Bunty said. The full list of drop-off locations can be found at gettysburg.toysfortots.org .

Multiple events will be held throughout the next two months where donors can bring toys, including the program's regular Stuff the Bus events at the Eisenhower Drive shopping center, which begin on Nov. 2 and are then held every Saturday and Sunday up through Dec. 15.

During Stuff the Bus, donors are welcome to drop toys off between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, Bunty said. A Stuff the Bus event will also be held on Black Friday, he added.

The most-needed toys this year are for children between the ages of 8 and 14, Bunty said.

Alternatively, instead of directly donating the toys themselves, donors can contribute financially on the program's website. Monetary donations stay local, Bunty said, and are put towards the purchase of toys for the program.

The program does not ship toys, Bunty stressed, and all toys are distributed locally during the program's annual distribution day at New Oxford High School, which is planned for Dec. 21.

The program is also always in need of volunteers, noted Bunty. Anyone interested in volunteering can learn more on the program's website.

Bunty, who has been the coordinator for the Hanover-Adams Toys for Tots program for four years and has participated for many more years, said that the program is all about helping bring a smile to kids faces on Christmas.

"Just knowing that they're going to have a smile on their face that Christmas morning," said Bunty, "That's my drive."

Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Hanover-Adams Toys for Tots need on rise during first weeks of 2024 registration