Donate to the Ultimate Toy Drive for Toys for Tots online or in downtown Raleigh

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- This Giving Tuesday, folks dropped off toys outside the ABC11 Eyewitness News Center in downtown Raleigh. Disney Ultimate Toy Drive supports the Marine Toys for Tots program.

"Christmas is just a special time for me and I feel all children deserve to open up gifts and have toys for the holidays," said Isela Wilkerson, who donated to the toy drive.

The Walt Disney Company, which is the parent company of ABC11, kicked off the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive with a $500,000 donation to Toys for Tots.

ABC11 presented a $25,000 check from Disney that will go to Toys for Tots in our area.

"This money is going to go a long ways to ensuring no child in our community goes without a toy this year," said SSG Justin Houston, of the US Marine Corps, based in Raleigh.

SSG Houston said Toys for Tots anticipated a shortage of toys due to lower than normal donations and supply chain issues.

"We have anticipated a shortage of toys but the organization has done a great job," SSG Houston said. "They've bought toys initially for all of these sites and they're also going to do a second buy for the sites as well so that we have enough toys for the children in the area."

For more than 70 years, Disney has supported the Toys for Tots program to bring comfort, happiness, and inspiration to children and families in need during the holiday season. We invite you to join us as we continue this tradition.

Click here to donate to the Ultimate Toy Drive now through Dec. 14, 2021.

Toys for Tots has distributed more than 500 million toys to families in need since 1947.

The foundation has always been surrounded by magic: Just a year after launching, Walt Disney gave his support to the program.

Other organizations also accepted help for Giving Tuesday.

The Salvation Army of Wake County is accepting donations for its food drives, Red Kettle campaign and angel tree at Crabtree Valley Mall.

Each angel on the tree represents a child you can adopt, which means you can buy Christmas gifts for them. More than 7,400 children are signed up. More than 1,000 still need to be adopted.

"In general, in our community, certainly our family shelter is full and there's a waiting list for families in need that's over 200 families long and certainly with a moratorium on rents and things, there's a lot of shakeup and community instability with more families sort of being in crisis, so the need is great this year especially to help show care and support and try to bring some stability to these families who are really struggling due to the pandemic," said Major Chuck Whiten, of the Salvation Army of Wake & Lee Counties.

Both Toys for Tots and The Salvation Army are also accepting volunteers.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of this station.