The City of Birmingham is partnering with AmFirst and CBS 42 to collect toys for children in the city.
“A lot of people depend on this toy drive to provide the joy and support for their families during this season,” said Austin Sledge, project manager with the Department of Youth Services.
The city says hundreds of families are able to receive toys each year through the Magic City Toy Drive.
“Myself, including the entire team here, would say this is our favorite part of the year,” Sledge said. “To see the smiles and the joy on these families’ faces, and the young people that receive these items, it really is the greatest part of the season.”
The city says toys will be given to children from 0 to 10 years old in low income households.
“It’s really tough to get toys for 8–10-year-olds,” he said. “For our young boys, for sure any basketball, football, baseball glove. They’re getting to the age where they’re doing sports so those items are always good. For our young ladies, anything with makeup, you know, wellness kits, health kits, anything of that nature is always great for them to start practicing as they get older.”
Any toy can be donated as long as it is new and unwrapped.
“This one is a tea party. Hopefully I get the invite to this one whenever the young lady receives it for Christmas,” Sledge said. “And this is the one I would have picked up when I was that age. These monster trucks, literally, monster trucks. But it’s really great, the kids love the race cars. It’s something they can play with throughout the rest of the year.”
New books can also be donated for kids at varying reading levels.
“We try to make sure that we give some educational items as well to our young families, so they can read along for the holiday season,” said Sledge.
You can find a list of donation locations and suggested toys at the link here.
