‘Desperate’ time for Toys for Town drive

Talk about it

Farmington police chief Brian Lindquist has a bone to pick with Mother Nature.

Sure, Mother Nature has given us some unseasonably warm temperatures, and sure, those warm temperatures are shortening Minnesota’s long winter season. But he believes those same warm temperatures are having a huge effect on Farmington’s Toys for Town toy collection.

It seems no one is really in the holiday spirit just yet, and with the Dec. 15 wrapping and distribution day just 10 days away, Lindquist is getting desperate.

“Normally I don’t get worried, but I’ll tell you right now, I’m a little worried,” Lindquist said Monday.

“Even if it was only 20 kids, I’m desperate.”

He’s not sure how many families have registered to receive gifts this year, but he figures it to be somewhere around the 90-family, 240-kid mark it was last year. He usually plans for about 1,100 to 1,200 items to fill the needs of Farmington’s families on the list.

But this year, interest in Toys for Town is down. The collection bins have been in place for more than a month at locations around the community, and so far, not one bin has been filled to the top. When the bins went out, Lindquist asked the businesses to call when they needed someone to come collect the donations. So far, no one has called. Only one donation through 360 Communities has come in, and that’s not nearly enough.

Lindquist attributes the lack of interest to the fact that lately, the weather has felt more like early October than early December. The lack of snow seems to have had a negative effect on the toy drive.

“It’s 55 degrees out. There’s no snow on the ground. You don’t want to turn on the radio and listen to Christmas music. You’re just not that into the Christmas spirit yet,” he said. “By the time that mood strikes us, it’s going to be too late for me.”

The Toys for Town wrapping and distribution is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at Farmington High School. That’s a week earlier than in the past, but Lindquist set the early date because he worried that many families and volunteers would already be out of town if it were held Dec. 22.

Collection bins are located at the following Farmington businesses: Castle Rock Bank, Farmington City Hall, CVS Pharmacy, Dunn Bros., the Farmington Library, Farmington Veterinary Clinic, Hadler Chiropractic, Pam McCarthy-American Family Insurance, Pilot Knob Pizzeria, Farmington Police Department, Rambling River Center, RoundBank, Family Fresh Market, Tan Ambitions, Pellicci Hardware, Lillian’s, Synergy Dance Studio, Anytime Fitness and Dakota Lumber.

Tags: farmington, news, community