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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Blue Santa president Margarine Beaman said donations for Operation Blue Santa by the Austin Police Department have been slow this year.
“I would say we expect a lot or we won’t be able to meet our needs,” she said.
The nearly 50-year-old operation began in 1972 with two Austin police officers helping 20 families in need. Since then, the operation has grown to nearly 8,000. Beaman says they will deliver to around 5,000 families and thousands of others have been adopted.
“We’re more than 100% counting on the community,” said Beaman. “Because if we didn’t have the community, we wouldn’t have the various functions in the community and people help us collect the toys and help us on the delivery day, it would never happen.”
They need volunteers to help distribute toys and groceries, as well as people who can help sort, wrap, and build gift boxes. You are looking for small groups of no more than 25 people to work in the Blue Santa warehouse.
Business owners can also get involved by setting up a donation box in their business to collect toys.
“We display our toy boxes in the various stores and shops and then pick them up from there,” said Beaman. “We are asking people that this year, as we are very understaffed and volunteers are not so plentiful due to the ongoing pandemic, that this year take them to the fire stations; then we will pick them up from the fire stations there. “
Operation Blue Santa usually receives a large portion of their donations during the annual Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade, but this year the parade was not held due to COVID-19. Instead, Chuy collected toys in his restaurant throughout November.
Beaman says they need all kinds of toy donations, but often they see a need for two categories – infants to two year olds and eight to 14 year olds.
If you would like to donate toys, you can hand them in at a fire station, a participating local company or at the APD warehouse. If you want to help distribute toys, you can register.
The distribution will take place on Saturday, December 18 from 8 a.m.
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