Happy Holidays

                                                       Welcome to the Twin Cities Toys For Tots 2024 Campaign
 
      We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to our volunteers and donators for Toys for Tots in 2023 and in years past. We look forward to our 2024 Toys for Tots Campaign and building upon last year’s successes. Our mission is to collect and distribute NEW and unwrapped toys as Christmas gifts to the disadvantaged children of Minneapolis & St. Paul. For the last 77 years, the United States Marine Corps has distributed over 652 million toys to more than 290 million children. This success stems from great partners, sponsors and volunteers that help us raise funds and toy donations. Without your help this program would not be as successful!


  Primary Toy Drop Locations

Collection and Distrubution Warehouse
MALL OF AMERICA 
Mon-Sun 9am to 5pm 
Collections dates 12 November - 18 December
Warehouse Will be Closed:
23 - 24 November
28 November - 1 December
9 December
19 December - Forward

We are located at the southeast court through L&L Bean and in between Forever 21/Spirit Halloween.

KARE 11  Mon-Sun  8am to 8pm    Collection dates  Dec 2nd to Dec 18
8811 Olson Memorial Hwy, Golden Valley, MN 55427

IBEW  Mon-Dri  8am to 4pm    Collection dates   Nov 15th to Dec 16th
6700 W Broadway Ave, Brooklyn Park 55428

UNITS  9am to 4pm
10580 Naples Street NE, Suite 150, Blaine, MN 55449
Nov 15th - Dec 16th
 
How to pick up boxes
Boxes and posters are now available for pickup at the Mall of America (60 E Broadway, Bloomington, MN 55425) between the hours of 9am and 3pm. Park in the uncovered parking lot near the east ramp and infront of L.L.Bean. There are a set of stairs near the street that lead to the lower level parking. There are a set of double doors accross the road, these are the doors for pickup. Due to distance and shortage of personnel we wont be able to drop off boxes and posters to every drop site, thank you for your understanding. Please reach out to Sgt Townsend or Sgt Hutchins to setup pickups and drop-off's for boxes and posters. 

Thank you for all the support!  Your assistance and contribution to the community is greatly appreciated! The website is updated weekly during the season.

Point Of Contact:
(507) 403-8625
Sergeant Townsend

 
 
 
Monetary Donations

In order to make a monetary donation to the Twin cities Toys For Tots campaign:
1.  You can donate on the website by clicking here Please make sure your donation is directed to Twin Cities MN.

2.  All checks need to be made out to “Toys For Tots Minneapolis MN” and mailed to:
Attn: SSgt Benjamin Zuleta
Toys For Tots Coordinator
5905 34th ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55450

3.  BE ADVISED, the link and address above or a uniformed Marine Corps service members are the ONLY people authorized to accept donations.  All donations are forwarded to our headquarters where you will receive a receipt and Tax ID form acknowledging your donation.

4.  Forward any questions or concerns to Minneapolis.mn@toysfortots.org 

VOLUNTEER

We are so glad that you would like to help out the children in and around the twin cities metro area. We can use help sorting and counting the thousands of toys that arrive at our warehouse in the Mall of America. If you would like to volunteer please sign up via Sign Up Genius! Use the link below. 

Sign Up Here!

Any questions please call or email.
SSgt Nicholas T. Brown
toysfortotstwincitiesvolunteer@gmail.com
612-356-2684

BECOME A NATIONAL CORPORATE SPONSOR OR DONOR
 
How To Become A Marine Toys for Tots National Corporate Sponsor
 
1. Contribute or help raise over $25,000 in cash.
2. Contribute over $100,000 worth of new toys or books.
3. Donations will be sent to the Toys For Tots Foundation so they can provide you a Tax ID letter.
 
How To Become A Marine Toys for Tots National Corporate Donor 
1. Make a Cash Donation valued over $5,000
2. Conduct a Cause-Marketing Project that Raises between $5,000 and $20,000.
3. Make a Gift In Kind Donation Valued between $50,000 and $99,000 worth of toys or books.
4. Donate Services (Media Exposure; Transportation Support; Warehouse Space, etc.) Valued between $50,000 and $99,000.
5. Be advised the ONLY people authorized to receive donations on behalf of the Toys for Tots campaign is a uniformed Marine.
6. Donations will be sent to the Toys For Tots Foundation so they can provide you a Tax ID letter.
 
Toys for Tots Events

• In order to distribute the toys to the children of the Twin Cities in a timely manner,  the last day the Marines will be able to support community events is December 17, 2024.  (See "Main Menu")
• All events must be approved by the Twin Cities Toys For Tots Coordinators (SSgt Benjamin Zuleta or SSgt Michael Miller) via "Host a toys for tots event"" formal submission.
• Please do not email us requesting to host an event, as we have many emails to reply to. The submissions page is constantly monitored. 
• While we would love to attend all events, due to staffing shortages, conflicting events, and operational commitment, we will not be able to attend each event that is requested.

                                                                                                                     Important Information and Dates
 
Individual Families

• Please register with a local non-profit agency/organization that is located in their area before November 30th, 2024.  We do not give toys to individual families.  Please contact your local church, hospital, or school in order to register for toys. We have a list of approved agencies on our web page. Please follow the link below to go directly to the page. 
• Click Here or copy and paste to your browser → THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE LOCAL TOYS FOR TOTS CAMPAIGN TO ACCEPT TOY REQUESTS

Non-Profit Agencies
Agency Coordinator: Sergeant Jonah Hutchins
(507) 291-5234
toysfortotstwincitiesagencies@gmail.com


Notes:

1. Please ensure you are entering your email correctly. We will keep your agency up to date by email as a primary means of contact.

2. We are validating agencies utilizing the IRS website in conjunction with working with the IRS to streamline the approval process. A FEDERAL TAX/501C3 ID Employer Identification Number (EIN) does not make your organization a Non-Profit Agency. Please ensure you enter a valid FEDERAL TAX/501C3 ID (EIN). EIN MUST CONTAIN 9 NUMBERS (E.G., NN-NNNNNNN) EIN MUST BE A NUMBER (E.G., NN-NNNNNNN).

3. Ensure your organization's name matches the FEDERAL TAX/501C3 ID (EIN). If the organization has changed its name and or are pending official change submit your request as it is listed on your FEDERAL TAX/501C3 ID (EIN) letter. Requests will be disapproved if we cannot validate your organization. We will send an email with further guidance in assisting you. 

4. When filling the toy request forms, please do not list specific toys. We cannot guarantee to have the toys listed on hand. We are dependent from toy donations and cannot control what is donated.

5. PLEASE DO list if the children are of special needs and identify what kind of toy would be beneficial to gift them. We will do our best to fill the order accordingly.

6. We will be sending out the Agency Clearing Sheet/Toy Order Forms weekly. We have reworked the document to make it "user" friendly. We have taken last year's recommendations and have made changes to the documents and are working to provide a better system in the way we distribute toys. We are limiting the agencies to 300 families. The threshold is to minimize as much as possible from giving agencies "bulk" (same/duplicate) toys. If you pass the threshold, inform the families to register with another Non-Profit Agency. This is a team effort and we should be able to work together.

7. This year we will not be conducting an Agency Meeting. We will send out all your required information (warehouse address, pick up dates, etc.) via email. We will use the emails submitted from your registration information. Please make sure you input a valid and monitored email(s). 

8. Although the site provides a way to submit for toy donations quantities, we only utilize this tool to gain an estimate. We utilize a different document (Agency Clearing Sheet) and will send this out weekly to approved agencies to capture accurate quantities of toys required. Reminder, we are limiting the agencies to 300 families and the number of toys requested will not be guaranteed. We cannot control the quantities of donations we collect. We will do our best to fill your order in full if the inventory allows and considering other agency requests. We ask that you are as accurate as possible with your counts (do not over estimate).

9. This year we will be doing our best to ensure each child receives one gift (Toy), two Stocking Stuffers, and one book or arts and crafts.
This will be dependent of what is on hand.

10. CLEARING SHEETS DUE IN BY NOVEMBER 23rd 2024!!!
      LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ALLOWED BUT NOT GUARANTEED TO BE FULLFILLED ON TIME.

11. Check your spam or junk folder for possible emails.

12. We will begin to schedule pickups the week of November 27, 2024.

13. The deadline to register as a non-profit agency is 23 November, 2024.



POINTS OF CONTACT
Program/Campaign Coordinator
Staff Sergeant Benjamin Zuleta      (507) 400-2247 / Minneapolis.mn@toysfortots.org

Assistant Coordinator 
Staff Sergeant Michael Miller          (612) 367-7083 / Minneapolis.mn@toysfortots.org

Warehouse Coordinator/Volunteer Coordinator
Staff Sergeant Nicholas Brown       (612) 356-2684 / toysfortotstwincitieswarehouse@gmail.com
                                                                                    toysfortotstwincitiesvolunteer@gmail.com

Events Coordinator
Sergeant Thomas Ratterman           (507) 400-0886 / toysfortotstwincitiesevents@gmail.com

Non- Profit Agency Coordinator  
Sergeant Jonah Hutchins                      (507) 291-5234 / toysfortotstwincitiesagencies@gmail.com


Agency Pick-Up

Box Distribution / Pick Up                
Sergeant Matthew Townsend       (507) 403-8625 / toysfortotstwincitiesdropoff@gmail.com
 
Thank you for your understanding and support!
Sincerely, Staff Sergeant Benjamin Zuleta