PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Santa's workshop for many kids is Toys for Tots, but due to the pandemic this year, the coordinator for the Bucks County campaign worries there won't be as much cheer as years past.
In a typical year, the Bucks County campaign collects about 18,000 toys, plus what the Toys for Tots Foundation buys to make up the difference.
"My guess is those numbers are going to be much lower this year," predicted coordinator Kevin Miller. "I would expect that we’re probably going to lose at least a third of our donations."
Miller, a Marine Corps veteran, said he understands the struggles wrought by the pandemic but wants to remind people that the campaign is still going on.
"We're trying to run it as close to normal as possible and we are desperately going to need the support of the community in the way of donations," he said. Those can include toys and monetary gifts.
Even securing storage space was somewhat difficult this year, according to Miller.
"So many businesses and schools and health care (providers) are using all of these mobile storage units on site," he said. "In previous years, we were actually in a small corner of a church basement which was just not going to be conducive with everything that's going on."
Also essential for the operation, especially this year, was a space to sort through the toys.
"The toys are coming in," he explained. "They are sitting from anywhere from 24-48 hours before we even touch them, all as part of our COVID protocol."