Several organizations across New Mexico are working overtime to make sure children get toys for the holidays, even when their parents can’t afford to buy them.

Toys for Tots, a program of the Marine Corps Reserve, is perhaps the most well-known. The Albuquerque effort, which serves families in the metro area as well as in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, expects to collect about 40,000 toys and serve 7,000 families this year.

“The whole community makes this work,” said Paul Caputo, a former Marine and the civilian organizer of the local program for 22 years. “We involve people who want to care.”

The effort is completely run by volunteers and 97 cents of every dollar donated goes to buy toys. Many organizations volunteer to help collect, sort and distribute toys. Marine recruiters and local law enforcement officers help collect toys, and the State Police officers distribute toys to outlying areas, including the pueblos.

Anyone can donate a new, unwrapped toy at a drop box around the community or participate in one of the special fundraising events such as a call-ins on KRQE-13 from 4 to 7 p.m. on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3, and on Dec. 10. The recommended price range for toys is $15-20.

To donate online, request a toy or get more information, visit the website at albuquerque-nm.toysfortots.org. Proof of residence and children’s documentation is required to qualify. 

Caputo said the program mostly helps single parents who are barely getting by. The toys are distributed to parents and grandparents who then give them to their children.

“It’s not about the toys,” he said. “It’s about letting the kid know somebody cares about them.”

The Salvation Army also collects toys through its Angel Tree program in collaboration with Walmart and Lovelace Hospital.

Businesses set up trees at their locations and request Angel Tree tags from the Salvation Army. Each tag specifies a child by age and gender and suggests appropriate toys such as a scooter for a 9- to 12-year-old. Toy weapons are not accepted. Anyone interested can pick up a tag and return it with a toy.

Once the toys are collected and sorted, families will be invited to choose items for their children, said Jacob Sandoval, case worker for the Salvation Army Family Services.

Families interested in applying should visit their local Salvation Army office. “We try to make it as simple as possible for people to apply,” Sandoval said. About 500 families a year are served by the program in Albuquerque, and there are programs at other Salvation Army units around the state

“It makes a huge difference because there are some families that don’t have any sort of income or don’t have any toys at all,” he added.

The Northern NM Toy Drive, presented by EXIT Realty Advantage NM, works with sponsors such as Los Alamos National Laboratories and the city of Santa Fe, to collect and distribute toys to over 5,000 children in more than seven counties.

The program partners with more than three dozen local organizations to give toys to the children they work with. Among the organizations the toy drive supports are the Northern Navajo Nation, the Boys and Girls Clubs, Santo Domingo Social Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the state Children, Youth and Families Department in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba County.

“It’s better for us to work through organizations that already are working with kids and know what their needs are,” said Becca Jones, associate broker at EXIT Realty and coordinator of the toy drive. 

The organizations are asked to talk with the children and find out a little about their interests and what they want for the holidays.

“We try to get something for each kid that they’ve shown interest in,” Jones said. “That’s something that sets our toy drive apart.”

There are several ways to donate, such as buying a gift from the program’s Amazon wish list or by choosing a tag from one of the Giving Trees that will go up the Saturday after Thanksgiving at DeVargas Center in Santa Fe. Each tag has information about what a child hopes to receive. In addition, there are 50 drop-off locations around Santa Fe, Espanola and Los Alamos. 

Volunteers also are needed to help sort and deliver toys.

“If somebody can’t contribute financially, which we completely understand, they can come and meet us at our sort location,” Jones said.

For more information visit exittoydrive.com.

It’s not all about toys, however. Many efforts are working to meet families’ other needs. The 35^th annual KOATS for Kids program is in full swing and expecting to distribute as many as 6,000 new coats to schoolchildren by mid-December.

KOAT-7 has drop boxes set up at Albertson’s, Blake’s Lotaburger and Nusenda Credit Union locations and will host a live drive at two Walmarts in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe on Nov. 15. The collection drive ends Nov. 17.

Schools across the state identify the children who need coats and KOATs for Kids sends what it can. But the need is so great that there are never enough coats for all the children, said Matt Montoya, creative services director for KOAT-7.

“We really implore the community to help out,” he said, adding that a new child’s coat costs an average of $20-30 and emphasizing that it’s not just about young children. High school kids need coats, too, so larger sizes are in demand.

Other groups organize adopt-a-family programs. PB&J Family Services in Albuquerque has a program for its enrolled clients who are getting services and are low-income or have other financial obstacles. 

Holiday Wish Program Manager Danielle Velasquez said she’s seen some drop in adopt-a-family programs in the community since the COVID pandemic, but PB&J has been going strong since 2002.

Families make a wish list that can include household needs such as pots and pans, toys for their children, and jackets and other essential clothing. Donors who adopt the family shop for items from the wish list and return them to PB&J.

“We pack into big black trash bags,” Velasquez said. “We don’t want the kiddos to see what’s coming into the house. We let the family decide how they would like to present the gifts to the kids.”

The program serves 400-500 families or at least 1,500 individuals a year and still is in need of donors for this holiday season. Anyone interested can sign up to adopt a family or make a monetary donation that allows a staff member to shop for the family. Expect to spend about $120 per person in the family for the items on the wish list and other gifts such as gift cards for the parents.

“Whenever we have anything leftover from our gifts, we share with other nonprofits,” Velasquez said. “It’s truly an amazing program and our clients absolutely need it and are so grateful to have the help in the holiday season.”

For more information, visit give.pbjfamilyservices.org/campaign/adopt-a-family-holiday-wish-program/c375643.

Whether it’s toys, coats or a gift of time, Caputo of Toys for Tots encouraged people to consider contributing in some way to help others this holiday season. “Life is about what you give, not what you get,” he said. “It’s what you’re supposed to do.”