Salemites have until Monday to donate to toy drives run by the city’s police department, with a fire department drive ongoing until Monday, Dec. 19.
The Salem Police Toy Drive has been a tradition for 36 years, which began when an officer wanted to help a child whose mother had died by suicide, police spokeswoman Angela Hendrick said.
Salem police officers deliver the toys to a list of families provided to the department by the Salem-Keizer School District, Head Start, Family Building Blocks and other organizations that support local families.
New, unwrapped toys for kids up to age 14 can be dropped off until Monday at the Salem Police Station, 333 Division St. N.E., or at the following toy collection sites:
- Cycle Country Inc, 4746 Portland Rd. N.E.
- Green Acres Landscaping, 5701 Gaffin Rd. S.E.
- POWER Kia, 3705 Market St. N.E.
- Salem Electric, 633 7th St. N.W.
- South Commercial Auto Sales, 5443 Commercial St. S.E.
- White Oak Construction, 2455 River Rd. S.
Wrapping paper donations are also accepted.
Another toy drive organized by Salem Professional Firefighters Local 314 organized will accept new, unwrapped toys at all 11 Salem Fire stations. It will also host a one-day toy drive at Fred Meyer, 3450 Commercial St. S.E., on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The drive runs through Monday, Dec. 19, fire Capt. Doug Stoops said, and any toys donated after will be saved for next year.
“All toy donations stay local with the bulk of donations going to the Salvation Army. We also partner with Project Able, a local charity that gets toy donations to local children and teens,” Stoops said in an email.
He said the drive is especially low on gifts for teenagers.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
