With over 500 toys collected last year, Canadian Tire and the Salvation Army hope to surpass that number with their 4th annual Toys Days event which kicks off today.
Throughout today and tomorrow, toys can be dropped off at Canadian Tire in Swift Current during store hours.
There are multiple ways to donate as General Manager at the Swift Current Canadian Tire, Tyler Lemieux explains.
"So obviously you can come into the store and pick up a toy and drop it off in the bins. You can also place an order online and just tag the pick-up customer as Toys Days and we will happily add that to the bin. If you did purchase something from somewhere else not a problem, you can bring it on in and add it to the bin or you can actually call the store and we will be doing a couple runs throughout Toys Days to pick up those toys from the community."
Swift Current Salvation Army's Lieutenant Bill Mailman says the need has increased this year.
"We've been finding that some people have been having more of a struggle this year. We've got the cost-of-living increase and the economy and inflation, and people just need a little extra. So, we actually have seen an increase this year. I think we went up from 380 kids we had to serve last year to were at 450 this year. So, we need a little bit of help. We can't do what we do without help from the community."
Lemieux adds that they have always been able to meet the need and he hopes the community can band together to take care of those who may need some extra help this year.
In addition, Lieutenant Mailman says Salvation Army staff will be on-hand during the event as much as they possibly can in order to meet people and say thank you.
Anyone looking for further information regarding Toys Days can click here