A holiday toy drive born out of pandemic-era restrictions returned last weekend to the Yorktown neighborhood.
Knights of Columbus Arlington Council 2473 once again hosted a drop-off collection site for Toys for Tots, continuing a tradition of spreading cheer to local children.
Donors drove up the long driveway at 5115 Little Falls Road, where they met Santa, Mrs. Claus and a host of volunteers as they handed off Christmas toys.
“We’ve been doing this since Covid,” said Santa, portrayed for the weekend by Myles McMorrow. Santa and Mrs. Claus (his wife Kate Gilchrist McMorrow) have been leading the effort since its inception.
Unwrapped toy donations are placed in collection bins, then transported to the lower parking lot where they are secured in storage units. When the units are filled, they are transported to Marine Corps Base Quantico for sorting and distribution.
Quantico is the headquarters of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Each year, it coordinates local toy-collection campaigns that begin in October and run through mid-December.
Toy-collection efforts at Little Falls Road run throughout the holiday season. Knights of Columbus Council 2473 accepts toys from the public as well as local public-safety agencies — such as Arlington’s Fill the Cruiser collection effort — and coordinates their transport to Quantico.
“We are a regional hub,” McMorrow said.
The Toys for Tots initiative is the second major effort of Arlington’s Knights of Columbus council each holiday season. This Thanksgiving, volunteers prepared and delivered holiday meals to a total of 3,300 people across the region.
The long-running Thanksgiving initiative also was altered by the pandemic.
Prior to Covid, there was both delivery service and an in-person dining option at the building’s 350-seat main hall. The in-person option could not be offered during Thanksgiving 2020, and the Knights of Columbus determined they could reach more people by maintaining delivery-only service after the pandemic had subsided.
For those preferring the in-person dining tradition, the organization partners with St. John the Beloved Catholic Church in McLean, which hosts an event each Thanksgiving.
The Toys for Toys collection wasn’t the only holiday event happening at the Knights of Columbus building and grounds throughout the Dec. 6-7 weekend.
Indoors, the Virginia Dance Conservatory was hosting a “Nutcracker”-themed tea party. Outdoors, the Optimist Club of Arlington was continuing its annual sale of Christmas trees.
