contributed graphic This is the official logo for Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots that can be seen on drop-boxes for toys at nearly 50 businesses and other locations in area cities.

There are at least two good ways to make sure every child in the area will have a gift from Santa this Christmas. Those two programs are Santa’s Helpers and Toys for Tots.

Santa’s Helpers, now in its third year, is an annual toy-collecting and distribution project managed jointly by the Sartell Chamber of Commerce’s Hospitality and Visitors Service and the City of Sartell. It is led this year by Alex Lewandowski, a member of the Sartell City Council.

Toys and other items collected will be given to children in the St. Cloud Hospital’s Children Center, at the Central Minnesota Child Advocacy Center and to 10 families in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.

Gifts will be collected through Dec. 16. The drop-off sites for donated toys are in Sartell City Hall (125 Pinecone Road N.), Sentry Bank (2 CR 2 in St. Stephen, or at its St. Cloud locations), the St. Cloud Financial Credit Union (1716 Pinecone Road S., Sartell) and the Demuth Spinal Care & Concussion Center (71 CR 120, Suite 300, Sartell).

The following is a list of the kinds of gifts needed. They should not be wrapped before dropping them off at the places mentioned above.

For Infants and toddlers: Rattles, board books, Play-a-Sound books, musical/light-up toys, teething toys.

For preschool children: Barbie dolls, action figures, Fisher Price little-people toys, Fisher Price medical kits, Play-Doh, baby dolls, Lego Duplo sets, Pop-Its, arts crafts, washable markers, watercolor paint sets, washable tempera paints, model cars and airplanes, jewelry-making kits, scrapbooking paper, suncatchers, art paper, glitter glue, wood crafts, boxes/photo frames, Wiggly Eyes, rhinestones, sequins, figurines and other objects to paint, scissors.

For school-age children:  Lego sets, craft kits for older children, gift cards, nail polish, cards and dice games, Slime kits, Diamond art kits, hair brushes/binders, Pop-its.

(Editor’s note: Just before the Newsleader deadline for this week, it was learned that the deadline for registering for Toys for Tots has been extended through Friday, Dec. 9. Adults who want to register their children for free toys should – as soon as possible – go to the Toys for Tots website to register or visit Catholic Charities in St. Cloud. The website is ccstcloudorg/toysfortots. The address of the Catholic Charities facility is 157 Roosevelt Road, St. Cloud.)

Founded in 1947, Toys for Tots for children in the greater St. Cloud area is organized by Catholic Charities Emergency Services in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots.

Residents are encouraged to bring gifts (unwrapped, please) and monetary donations by Monday, Dec. 12 because the three distribution dates for the gifts begins Dec. 13.

Toys and other items, including gift cards, can be dropped off in big boxes at businesses throughout central Minnesota. In addition, Catholic Charities is accepting donations from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 and from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12. Catholic Charities is located at 157 Roosevelt Road in St. Cloud. Those who bring donations should bring them to Door D, located at the back of the building. They should not be left outside of that door.

Gifts are distributed to children ages 6 months to 14 years whose parents, guardians or another adult have registered with Catholic Charities Emergency Services. Toys for Tots is available for children who live in Sartell, St. Joseph, St. Cloud, Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, St. Augusta, Rice, Kimball, Eden Valley, Royalton and Watkins. Donate online on that site. In 2021 there were 12,670 toys distributed, and 1,993 children were provided with toys in those cities.

In Sartell, there are four Toys for Tots drop-off boxes in the following places: Refine Dermatique, 161 19th St. S. Suite 106; Westwood Professional Service, 1900 Medical  Arts Ave. S., Suite 100; US Bank, 1712 Pinecone Road S.; and at the Sartell Public Safety Facility (police and fire services) where the drop-off box is right inside the vestibule in the front of the building.

People in St. Stephen should visit the Toys for Tots website to find out where the nearest drop-off boxes are located. There are nearly 50 of those boxes set up throughout the area.

The Toys for Tots website is ccstcloud.org/toysfortots. People can also donate monetarily on that website.

Dalman was born and raised in South St. Cloud, graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School, then graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in English (emphasis on American and British literature) and mass communications (emphasis on print journalism). He studied in London, England for a year (1980-81) where he concentrated on British literature, political science, the history of Great Britain and wrote a book-length study of the British writer V.S. Naipaul. Dalman has been a reporter and weekly columnist for more than 30 years and worked for 16 of those years for the Alexandria Echo Press.

Sartell St. Joseph St. Stephen

Sartell-St. Stephen school district St. Cloud school district

Sartell Chamber St. Joseph Chamber