Scene from a previous Toy Drive. Courtesy/Exit Realty Advantage NM
Scene from a previous Toy Drive. Courtesy/Exit Realty Advantage NM
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The number of people affected by COVID-19 continues to skyrocket so it is more important than ever to aid and assist those in need, especially during the holiday season.
EXIT Realty Advantage NM is offering an opportunity to help one of most vulnerable groups in New Mexico – children – with its holiday toy drive.
The drive kicks off Friday and runs through Dec. 18. To comply with the state’s public health order as well as social distancing guidelines, EXIT is conducting its drive virtually.
Participants can visit www.exittoydrive.com and click on shopping links for specifically requested items, which will ship directly to EXIT’s Los Alamos office for distribution. There also are links for local businesses where items can be purchased. EXIT Realty encourages folks to keep it local as much as possible.
If participants would like to personally deliver their gifts, Los Alamos Fire Department Stations 3, 4 and 6 will accept new, unwrapped toys. Donors should look for big blue bins out front of the stations.
Toys also can be dropped off at the EXIT office in Los Alamos at 1615 Central Ave., Ste 100. Gifts can be placed in the lobby, under the tree. Other drop off locations include any Santa Fe Fire Department station as well as Opulent, in DeVargas Center once it reopens. Española police stations will offer drop off boxes, too.
The toy drive is new to EXIT Realty, Real Estate Agent Becca Jones said. The Santa Fe Fire Department organized the drive but due to the pandemic the department was unable to conduct it. So, EXIT Realty decided to step in.
“I’ve been working with the Santa Fe Fire Department for about 9-10 years doing this toy drive with them,” she said. “And this year with COVID they weren’t really able to organize it … and I joined EXIT in August and I brought this idea to one of our staff meetings … I was worried about being able to still pull it off but when I brought the idea to the brokers and Lance (Eaton, EXIT Realty owner) they were all totally on board.”
Eaton agreed.
“The opportunity was a great one to help … so here we go,” he said.
The drive will benefit nine organizations in Northern New Mexico that serve children. These organizations are: Casa Familia Family Shelter, Santa Fe Indigenous Center, Santa Fe Dreamers, Santo Domingo Social Services, Presbyterian Medical Services Family Health, Villa Therese Clinic, Children, Youth, & Family Department, St. Elizabeth’s Homeless Teens Shelter and Las Cumbres.
This year EXIT anticipates supporting more than 700 kids. The children range from infants to 18-year-olds who are in foster care, homeless or in precarious situations, Jones said.
Jones said it is important, especially as the pandemic rages, to support these organizations and the children under their care.
“It is super important to continue doing this toy drive,” she said. “And having a bigger corporate sponsor organizer (EXIT Realty) takes the drive to a new level. Its reach to people makes our net even bigger to cover these kids’ Christmas. And the number seems to grow with the kids who need help for Christmas.”
“Obviously, this year has affected families in ways we can’t even imagine,” Eaton said. “I think the need will be important for families that have been hit hard by COVID.”
The toy drive is one way to help these families, Jones said.
“With everything that has happened with COVID … it really changed our lives in a lot of way,” she said. “I think there are a lot of us who feel incredibly grateful for our health, for our families and to be able to continue working.”
There are many who have not been so lucky, so it is necessary to lend a helping hand, Jones said, and “bring something bright and happy in a time where there hasn’t been a lot of bright and happy.”
Other businesses have stepped in to help EXIT Realty with the toy drive including Meow Wolf, Los Alamos Fire Department, Santa Fe City Fire Department, Española Police Department, Invisible Hand Entertainment and Opulent.
Additional corporate sponsorship is welcomed. If a company would like to make a contribution or adopt an organization, contact EXIT at 505.695.0442. For more information about the toy drive, visit the EXIT Realty Advantage NM Facebook page.
Scene from a previous Toy Drive. Courtesy/Exit Realty Advantage NM
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EXIT Realty Advantage NM Kicks Off Holiday Toy Drive - Los Alamos Daily Post
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