The 2018 season kick-off event for Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan will take place at noon Saturday (November 17) at Great Wolf Lodge, featuring Santa arriving via a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, weather permitting. The event will run until Santa departs at 2pm. Children will have a chance to visit with Santa, get involved in children’s activities, enjoy refreshments, check out police and fire displays, and sing Christmas carols. 

The event is free, but attendees who bring a toy donation can receive a water park pass to Great Wolf Lodge and register to win a variety of door prizes, including Jimmy John’s gift cards and an overnight stay at Great Wolf Lodge. 

Last year, Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan delivered nearly 23,000 toys to over 7,000 children in Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Leelanau, and Kalkaska counties. The need for toys is expected to be about the same this year. Toys for Tots distributes toys through 13 different human services agencies in the region, including the Father Fred Foundation and Salvation Army. People needing assistance should contact one of those agencies as quickly as possible.

Toys for Tots Coordinator Maggie Kent notes the organization has an additional challenge this year because of the closure of Traverse City's Toys "R" Us store. “They usually contributed about $10,000 to the campaign, so we will need to make up that loss," Kent says. Over 100 toy drop-off locations have been set up throughout the region, with most of them identified through red-and-white yard signs.