Eugene (KMTR) - Donations are down for the annual Christmas Toys for Tots drive, but organizers still have hope they’ll catch up.
Hundreds of kids and their families showed up at a ShopKo parking lot in north Eugene Sunday to donate toys and ride a fire truck or other emergency vehicle.
Toys for Tots is an annual charity sponsored by the U.S. Marine Reserves. The items collected will be handed out to families in need in mid-December.
The event is a good way to teach children the importance of giving—a lesson 11-year-old Hannah Chappell seems to have learned.
“I get to have presents on Christmas,” says Hannah, “and some kids don't get to have presents, and so I help them get presents."
Toys for Tots organizers say they were at one-third their usual donation pace before Sunday's event.
New, unwrapped toys my still donated at Marine Corps Reserve Center in Eugene or to any Eugene-Springfield fire station.
