SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department will be raising money and accepting holiday toy donations to give to children in need this holiday season.
According to the SFPD, they will be accepting donations at all local Walgreens locations until December 15.
Local residents are encouraged to donate new unwrapped toys to Walgreens stores for officers to collect and donate to children next month.
The SFPD will also be continuing “Operation D.R.E.A.M” (Diverse Response to Education Activities and Mentorship), through a GoFundMe campaign to raise $40,000 to support non-profits that encourage youth opportunities, education, and employment.
The San Francisco Fire Department will also be holding several charity fundraisers in the upcoming months. The next event will be their 9th annual charity event, “The Johnny V. Memorial Toy Run” to benefit the San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 Toy Program, held on Saturday, November 14, at 2225 Jerrold Street.
Following the toy run will be the 19th Annual Holiday Dance Party on Saturday, November 28, at 1025 Columbus Avenue. The event will be benefiting the toy drive and San Francisco Cancer Prevention Foundation.
The SFFD’s last event of the year will be The Santa Hat 5K Run/Walk at Crissy field on Sunday, December 6. The event will benefit the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program.
Both events will be open to the general public. Tickets for the Holiday Dance Party are $30. Entry is $25 per rider for the Memorial Run, or $5 with a new, unwrapped toy.
According to the toy program’s website, the San Francisco Firefighters Toy Program is a charity that was founded by firefighters over 50 years ago in 1949. The program has become “the largest and longest-running year-round toy program of it’s kind.”
Last year, the Toy Program collected and distributed over 200,000 toys to disadvantaged children and helped individual families in need. In addition to collecting toys, the program assists community organizations, including, but not limited to shelters for abused women and children, displaced victims and families of fires, floods, and other natural disasters.
For more information about these events or the Fire Department’s Toy Drove, visit http://www.sffirefighterstoys.org/. The SFPD’s GoFundMe campaign can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/sfpdoperationdream.
Both fundraising campaigns are organized by non profit organizations under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Services Revenue Code.
