Brand new, unwrapped toys for kids ages 3-18 can be donated at Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach fire stations now through Friday, Dec. 20 as part of the 21st annual Beach Cities Toy Drive.
Started as a way to collect toys for area children in need, the toy drive provides toys for the Richstone Center, 1736 House and Harbor Child Crisis Center, Good Shepherd House, the Salvation Army and the Los Angeles County Toy Loan Program, said event organizer Richard Montgomery, a former Manhattan Beach City Council member who is one of several local organizers of the annual activity.
Former Hermosa Beach City Council member Sam Edgerton started the toy drive in 1992, shortly after being elected to the Hermosa Beach City Council, according to the Beach Reporter.Other key organizers include J.R. Reviczky, Vicky Garcia, Hermosa Beach Mayor Pro Tem Peter Tucker, Sandy Rohrbach and Baja Sharkeez and Palmilla owner Ron Newman.
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- Manhattan Beach Fire Station, 400 15th St., 24 hours a day
- Manhattan Beach Fire Station, 1400 Manhattan Beach Blvd., 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Hermosa Beach Fire Department, 540 Pier Ave.
The toy drive ends with a wrapping party on Saturday, Dec. 21 at which volunteers separate toys by gender and age and everyone helps wrap them up as holiday presents.
This year's toy wrapping party will be held at the Hermosa Beach Community Center, 710 Pier Ave., from 11 a.m. until about 3 p.m. All paper, scissors and tape will be provided as well as food and soft drinks donated by local restaurants, said Montgomery.
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