Delivery day is Sunday
Santa wants you to join his posse.
Santa’s Posse is hoping for more volunteers for Sunday’s big delivery day, bringing food, toys, and joy to less fortunate families in the region.
Santa’s Posse, in coordination with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and local communities, will have bags of toys, boxes of food, and in some cases, bicycles, ready for volunteers to pick up Sunday morning at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.
It begins at 8 a.m., but volunteers can come at any time throughout the morning. The hope is all toys and boxes will be delivered by 2 p.m.
This year, just like almost everything else in a COVID-19 world, will be different. It will be a contactless pick-up.
The concept remains: Help more than 1,000 families.
“I would love to have 700 volunteers to deliver 1,200 deliveries,” said Kevin Allais of Santa’s Posse. “We have 300-something signed up now.”
Yes, the organization is asking volunteers to sign up, so they know just who is coming for pick-up day, with safety protocols in place. To volunteer: https://santasposse.ivolunteer.com/santasposse
In the past, volunteers could park their cars, walk in the facility, find a zip code, and pick up however many bags of toys they could deliver.
“For the most part, you aren’t going to have a choice this year,” Allais said.
Staying in your car, volunteers at the facility will bring the bags of toys and the boxes of food to you. The expectation is that one car will be given toys and food to be delivered in the same area.
“So you’re not driving around the whole county,” Allais said.
But please be flexible under this new system.
Each family gets a large box full of food as well as a Winco gift card. Teenagers and new moms also receive gift cards from various outlets. And all children through the age of 12 get multiple gifts.
This year’s toy drive was also affected by the effects of the pandemic. Many of the traditional places for toy drives — such as schools — were closed, or other areas had reduced foot traffic. Allais said the non-profit spent more money than it ever has to buy toys this year. Also, Santa’s Posse is hoping to help 1,200 families this year, up from around 1,000 last year.
This is the 23rd year of Santa’s Posse. More than 2,900 children are expected to receive gifts this year.
Monetary donations are appreciated, as well. No one associated with Santa’s Posse takes any money. It is an all-volunteer organization.
To donate, go to: https://santasposse.com/
