For the second year in a row, the Williamsburg Police Department is collecting toys to bring Christmas joy to children in need.
The police department will hold their annual Stuff the Trailer event on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Richmond Road Walgreens and CVS pharmacies, according to a police department news release.
The trailer will be at Walgreens on Saturday and CVS on Sunday. The event collects toys for low-income families.
The department says donated toys should be new and unopened so the children can experience the joy of opening a brand-new toy on Christmas, said Maj. Greg Riley, a spokesman for the Williamsburg Police Department.
In addition to toys, books and clothes are also welcome as donations. The goal is to fill the department’s trailer to give as many families and children as possible a special Christmas.
This year’s event is slightly different from the first year, however.
According to Officer Aundrea Holiday, director of the community services unit for the Williamsburg Police Department, the event last year was designed differently, so officers went and shopped for the families, and then gave them specific toys.
This year, the toys will be collected so families can to shop among the donated toys.
“The fact that they get to shop allows them to pick out their own toys,” Holiday said. “It doesn’t make them feel as if they’re asking for help.”
The department encourages families to sign up to receive toys through Williamsburg Social Services at the Stryker building, which is next to the department.
Social services monitors the list of registered families to ensure that one family isn’t going to multiple agencies to get toys, according to Holiday, keeping the availability of the toys fair to families who are only going to one location.
Last year, the department was able to fill the floor of a trailer with only short notice to prepare. This year, Holiday hopes the trailer will be entirely filled with new bikes, toys, and other gifts.
There is no limit to the number of toys one family can have, according to Holiday.
It isn’t only the children that benefit from the event. Parents and guardians can give their children Christmas gifts without the worry of where all the toys will come from.
“I think that this helps alleviate the stress that Christmas can bring to families that can’t provide toys for the kids,” Holiday said.
The department also accepts cash donations to provide teenagers with gifts. While the children are thought of with toy donations, many people forget that teenagers deserve a good Christmas too, Holiday said. The money will go to buying gifts that young adults would enjoy such as cell phone accessories.
“Every kid should have a Christmas,” Holiday said.
The department’s officers will be seen around town in Santa costumes promoting the event. Even though the weather is expected to be less than festive this weekend, Holiday says that hopefully people will still come and have a good time.
For those cannot make it to the event but would like to donate, Walgreens will have a donation box at their store. Toys can also be dropped off at the Williamsburg Police Department, located at 425 Armistead Avenue from Tuesday until the Dec.14.
For more information email the Williamsburg Police Department Community Services Unit at police@williamsburgva.gov or call 757-220-2331.
