HIALEAH, Fla. – SSgt. Socmaria Montana is the head elf at The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots workshop in Hialeah.
Montana, who usually serves as a combat marksmanship coach in Oregon, was hard at work with his team on Thursday.
Toys for Tots has more than 62,000 toy requests this Christmas in South Florida. They need more toys for children aged 8 to 17.
“I am still down 43,000 toys,” Montana said, adding he needs the community to show up for kids in need in a big way.
To help put a dent on the list, The Big Bus Toy Express is gearing up to pick up more of the community’s donations on Friday.
There are four drop-off locations in Miami-Dade County and five drop-off locations in Broward County.
Montana is asking South Florida residents to choose one location and drop off a new toy in time for the bus to pick it up. It’s a mission of hope that Local 10 has been involved in for nearly a decade.
Miami-Dade County stops
The 1st stop is from 6 to 7 a.m. at the Tropical Financial Credit Union at 10510 SW 88th St., in Kendall
The 2nd stop is from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Walgreens at 9675 NW 41 St., in Doral.
The 3rd stop is from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts at 1300 Biscayne Blvd.
The 4th stop is from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Walgreens at 18655 Biscayne Blvd., in Aventura
Broward County stops
The 5th stop is from Noon to 1 p.m. at Vera Cadillac Buick GMC at 300 S. University Dr., in Pembroke Pines.
The 6th stop is from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Walgreens at 15911 Pines Blvd., in Pembroke Pines.
The 7th stop is from 3 to 4 p.m. at Walgreens at 3015 S. University Dr., in Davie.
The 8th stop is from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at IKEA at 151 NW 136 Ave., in Sunrise.
The 9th stop is from 6 to 7 p.m. at Tropical Financial Credit Union at 8947 W. Atlantic Blvd., in Coral Springs.