Holiday toy drives in Modesto in serious need of donations

Two organizations that assist the homeless and the needy – Modesto Gospel Mission and the Salvation Army – said they need more toys to bring happiness to children this holiday season.

Kevin Carroll, director of the Gospel Mission on Yosemite Boulevard, said toy donations are way down this year. He opened the doors Sunday to two rooms that are normally filled with gifts this time of year. The rooms were fairly empty.

Last year almost 2,700 children and adults received gifts at the Gospel Mission’s “Happy Birthday, Jesus” party, with children taking home about 70 percent of the gifts.

The charity expects to serve at least 2,500 people at this year’s Christmas event starting noon Dec. 23. The celebration features a holiday meal, free gifts and live nativity.

“It’s a huge blessing to be able to bless the kids,” Carroll said. A large percentage of the children come to the event from the nearby airport neighborhood, he said. In addition, there are 22 homeless children staying with mothers or fathers at the shelter.

Carroll said a lot of stuffed animals have been donated. What’s needed are new toys for children and gift items for teenagers to create smiles at the upcoming event. Cash donations are also down this year, the director said.

The Gospel Mission and Salvation Army ask for unwrapped gifts from donors.

Salvation Army Capt. Deborah Breazeale said donations for the group’s annual toy drive are far behind the pace of previous years.

“It is very, very slow,” Breazeale said.

The charity provides toys to about 2,500 children from newborn to 12 years old.

Breazeale said she is not certain that people are donating less.

“I think there are more organizations asking and so the gifts are spread out more,” she said. “Years ago, it was just a couple of organizations with toy drives. Now, a lot of organizations are doing it.”

The Salvation Army could use more toy donations by Tuesday for families signed up for its giveaway Saturday. Items are especially needed for boys and girls age 9 and above, Breazeale said.

The Modesto Bee came up with a list of 14 other holiday toy drives in Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank and other communities.

As an example, Turlock Together is accepting unwrapped toys for children up to 11 years old at Turlock fire stations, City Hall, and participating churches and businesses. Toys needing batteries are not requested.

The Modesto office of the California Highway Patrol is asking for unwrapped toys for children. Donations will be accepted through Friday at the CHP office, at 4030 Kiernan Ave.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Holiday toy drives in Modesto in serious need of donations."