WFTV Channel 9 collecting Toys for Tots donations until Sunday

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By Sam Martello

ORLANDO, Fla. — WFTV 9 Family Connection and our partners have been collecting donations for Toys for Tots for months now. This weekend families are picking up their gifts, and it’s also the last chance for you to donate.

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Parents waited patiently in long lines of cars Saturday morning outside of the Armed Forces Reserve Center to be gifted toys for their children for the holidays.

Gerardo Armella was one of those parents receiving Toys for Tots gifts for his eight- and ten-year-old.

9 Familly Connection

“It’s really helping us because we are struggling a little bit,” Armella said. “I think God is blessing us with these toys for our kids.”

He told us not only will the toys bring smiles to his kid’s faces but it will also teach them to appreciate what they’ve been given.

“They will be grateful, thankful, and they will be really happy with that,” Armella said.

Read: Santa and his elves drop in at Nemours Children’s Hospital

While Toys for Tots organizers couldn’t give us an exact number on how many toys had been donated so far this year, they did tell us as of Saturday morning more than 1,200 families have already picked up their toys.

They want to help more and there is still time to donate.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

9 Family Connection’s Santa Saturday collects hundreds of toys Channel 9 is helping put a dent in the need for donations for Toys for Tots.

For the final day, Channel 9 will be collecting toys on Sunday in our downtown Orlando studio lobby. You can drop off donations between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Read: Orlando STEM students’ high-tech Hanukkah

You can also purchase a toy for a child online by clicking here Toys for Tots: Shop online for a child! – WFTV

This will be the last chance to bring holiday cheer to local families in need.

“Push out as many toys as possible,” Sgt. Gustavo Guerrero, a Marine organizing our local Toys for Tots, said. “So, we can get them out to the families and organizations that need them.”

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