The Marine Corps League, organizing the annual 'Toys for Tots' toy drive for families in need in the Reno/Sparks area, says local Walmart stores have removed donation boxes from area locations.
The group said it had donation boxes set up at area Walmart locations but has now learned that Walmart has removed those boxes. A representative for the group says they have not yet been able to get a clear answer from the stores as to why the boxes were removed but one store official told them the donation boxes go against Walmart's no soliciting policy.
The group told Channel 2 News they were instructed to contact Walmart's corporate offices but they have yet to have their phone calls returned. Channel 2 News has also tried to reach Walmart Corporate Communications but our phone calls or e-mails were not returned until Tuesday.
Tuesday morning Walmart explained to us it actually has never explicitly allowed Toys for Tots collection bins in its stores, at least not at the corporate level. So, it was basically just a management oversight at the local stores. The corporate spokesperson we talked to said as soon as they found out, they asked store managers to enforce the policy and pull the bins. "The corporate in-store solicitation policy is pretty narrow, and unfortunately, in this case, Toys for Tots falls outside the scope of what's allowed for in-store solicitation," says Delia Garcia.
This means, the average of 1,500 toys per week that Toys for Tots was getting from each Walmart store won't be coming in this year, but local organizers are taking it all in stride. They say it's just a drop in the bucket and that our community is always ready to step in and help.
The Reno Toys for Tots group has had donation barrels at Walmart locations in previous years and are still waiting to find out where the donation boxes went after store officials removed them.
In the Carson City and Minden areas, two of three Walmart's have allowed the Carson group to place donation boxes at their stores. The group says managers at the Topsy Lane location told them they were instructed by Walmart's corporate office not to allow the donation bins because Walmart as a corporation was only allowing donations to be made to the Children's Miracle Network. The group did say, however, Walmart was allowing them to have Marines stand outside the locations to collect toys on certain days.
The Carson City group says they have been allowed to have donation boxes inside area Walmart stores for at least the last ten years. They also said that the Walmart locations typically bring in the most toys throughout the area.
The local Salvation Army says they will still be doing their 'Red Kettle' donations at local Walmart stores.
The Reno Dentist is also collecting 'Toys for Tots' donations at two locations through December 15th, at 855 West 7th Street, Suite 5 and at 15 McCabe Drive, Suite in 104, both in Reno. For more information, call 775-473-4717.
According to the Reno Toys for Tots website, the group raised and distributed over 46,600 toys for children within Washoe County.
