January 2012San Francisco Firefighters Distribute Toys, Just Not Through ChimneysPaul McDonaldLaunched in 1949, San Francisco Toys for Tots is the nation’s oldest and largest toy giveaway program. From a handful of firefighters fixing bikes and playthings, the program last year distributed more than 400,000 toys to in excess of 40,000 needy children. Running between the last week of November to Christmas Eve, in 2011 Toys for Tots operated from a Jerrold Street warehouse, formally a beer distribution site and now a storage and maintenance facility owned by the San Francisco Academy of Arts College. In early-December a group of Santa Clara University alumni sorted and bagged toys for that morning’s giveaway. Donated toys are categorized by age and gender, and placed into large bags according to a set of criteria per recipient, such as one stuffed animal, one game, and one doll. With upwards of 50 people sorting and bagging, the process proceeded quickly. It needed to: at the other end of the warehouse families were lined up to receive their gifts at the pace of one bag distributed every two minutes. The program receives personal and corporate donations. Not all donated items are appropriate for the target recipients. The concert promotion company Live Nation provided boxes of concert shirts, including for Tom Petty, Poison, Meat Loaf, Billy Crystal and Barbara Streisand, whose shirts contained a gaudy gold embroidered “B” from a 1994 tour. The program focuses on low-income San Francisco children, age 12 and under. A post card with a pick-up time and date is mailed to approved applicants. The program runs six days a week during the holidays, and collects toys year-round at San Francisco firehouses. Collection barrels are also provided to businesses that want to participate. Sponsored by Firefighters Local 798, the program’s mission is to provide gifts to families struggling to make ends meet during the holiday season. For more information, see sffirefighterstoys.org
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