DeKalb County residents have until Tuesday to request toys for Christmas through Toys for Tots. But you may have more time still, depending on where you live.
If you’re in Rockford, you have until Friday, and Whiteside County honors applications as late as Dec. 19.
Kathi Hogshead Davis heads the DeKalb County Toys for Tots. She says need is determined by families either showing state medical cards or proving their children are part of the schools' free or reduced lunch program.
"Any child that participates in either one of these is eligible to receive toys," Hogshead Davis said in an e-mail. "The process may be different in other states, but they still have to determine the needy children."
Almost half of all Illinois students are considered low-income, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Richard Rajnowski heads the Whiteside County Toys for Tots. He says his section doesn’t ask for wages or medical cards, but the need is apparent for those who request toys in his area.
“We just … kinda hold everybody to their honor,” Rajnowski said.
Rajnowski says there’s still a need for donations that fit two age groups: newborn to four years old, and younger teenagers.
“People always just chip in toys,” Rajnowski said. “But the other day, I got an order [of] hair dryers and curling irons … radios, headphones … stuff like that for the older kids.”
Rajnowski says any monetary donations made in the county stay there.
“I mean, a lot of people [say] … ‘Oh, I want this to stay in Whiteside County.’ And, you know, it does,” Rajnowski said. “So I reassure everybody all the time.”
While money stays in the county’s Toy for Tots account, Rajnowski says sometimes toys are donated to other surrounding Toys for Tots collection and distribution centers in need. But that’s only after the needs are met for Whiteside County.
Some counties don’t have a collection and distribution headquarters for Toys for Tots. That includes LaSalle, Jo Daviess, Bureau and Putnam counties.