The spirit of giving is in the air during the holiday season, and nowhere is it more apparent than with the annual New Opportunities of Dallas County toy drive.

John Andorf has been an organizer for the toy drive for several years, and he helped set up toy donation boxes around Perry at the beginning of November, which will be collected this week. After they spend next week organizing the donations, the toys will be distributed on Friday, December 8th. Andorf says the New Opportunities toy drive works alongside a national charity, as the need each year is very high. “A very important part of the collection is the actual Toys for Tots — the Marine Corps that we’ve all heard so much about over the years, they do a fantastic job all across the country — they also donate toys. But unfortunately, with having a need for about 300 plus children this year in Perry, their toys need to be supplemented with other toys.”

In addition to the toy donations, New Opportunities also does a lot of fundraising. Andorf says monetary donations go toward purchasing toys for age groups where there may be an insufficient amount of donations. The money raised also pays for food baskets the organization gives out to families in need so they can have a Christmas dinner. Andorf points out that while they will empty the tox boxes on Friday, they will accept toy and money donations right up until distribution day. To learn more about New Opportunities and the toy drive, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.