With over 43,000 area children in need this holiday season, the Overland Park Convention Center will serve as the largest area Toys for Tots donation site through Dec. 15
Overland Park, Kan. —The Overland Park Convention Center will once again serve as the largest donation site for the area Marine Corps, Toys for Tots Drive 2022. To donate, guests are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation and drop it off at the convention center now through Dec. 15.
Last year, the local Toys for Tots served over 33,000 less fortunate children in the greater Kansas City area. The need for toys is even greater this year with an estimated 43,000 children in need during the holiday season.
“With the price of everything soaring, it’s been an extremely tough year for everyone, but we know it will be even harder for the families who rely on Toys for Tots to bring joy to their holiday season,” said Brett C. Mitchell, general manager of the Overland Park Convention Center. “As the holidays approach, we look forward to playing an active role in supporting the children not only in our local community, but the entire metropolitan region. We hope to see any community members who are able to participate, join us in collecting toys this year.”
Toys for Tots assists children up to age 17. During Toys for Tots Drive 2022, items to consider for pre-teens and teens include, but are not limited to, sporting equipment, bags, balls, books, backpacks, cosmetics, purses, watch/wallet gift sets, bath gift sets, board games, radio control cars and trucks, hand-held electronics, skateboards/helmets, curling irons, hair straighteners, and hair dryers.
The Overland Park Convention Center will be open for public donations Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Easily accessible Guests are asked to drop items off at the security entrance located on the east side of the convention center off Woodson Rd.—directional signage is provided.
The Marine Corps collects and donates toys directly to affiliated 501(c)3 organizations. The cutoff date to sign up for individual family assistance has passed. Families still in need of holiday assistance can call 211 for placement.
To learn more about the Overland Park Convention Center, please visit opconventioncenter.com/toys-for-tots or call 913.339.3000. For more about the local Toys for Tots, visit kansas-city-mo.toysfortots.org/.
Overland Park Convention Center: 6000 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS, 66211
About Overland Park Convention Center
The award-winning Overland Park Convention Center opened in November of 2002 on a 26-acre site in the heart of Overland Park, the largest suburban city in the Kansas City metropolitan and the second largest city in Kansas. Adorned with over sixty original works of are and equipped with state-of-the-art communications systems, the 245,000 square floor complex features a 60,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall that connects to the 25,000 sq. ft. Edwin C. Eilert Ballroom and 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting room space. Natural light radiates throughout the unusually spacious (44,000 sq. ft.) pre-function and registration areas. Among the convention centers many awards, the most recent include: 2020 Best Small Convention Center in North America, EXHIBITOR Magazine; 2020 Top 20 Centers of Excellence in North America, EXHIBITOR Magazine; 2019 Best Convention Centers in North America, Business View Magazine; 2002 – 2020 Best Meeting & Conference Facility, Ingram’s Magazine; 2018 – 2020 Prime Site Award, Facilities & Destinations Magazine
About Toys for Tots
The principal Toys for Tots activity which takes place each year is the collection and distribution of toys in the communities in which a Marine Corps Reserve Unit is located. In communities without a Reserve Unit, the campaign can be conducted by a Marine Corps League Detachment or group of men and women, generally veteran Marines, authorized by Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to conduct a local Toys for Tots campaign. Local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators conduct an array of activities throughout the year, which include golf tournaments, foot races, bicycle races and other voluntary events designed to increase interest in Toys for Tots, and concurrently generate toys and monetary donations.
