KCCI’s Toys For Tots Tuesday Returns On December 15

More Ways To Donate Near You, Or Give Online, Right Now

DES MOINES, IA November 12, 2026 – KCCI and partners are inviting Central Iowans to help make the holidays brighter for children in need through the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. This year, KCCI Iowa’s News Leader, along with Fareway, IBEW 347, American Equity, and new transportation sponsor Two Men and a Truck, are working together to raise more than last year’s total of nearly $300,000. Donors can bring a new, unwrapped toy to participating Fareway locations or give online at ToysForTots.org. Additionally, all sponsor locations will host Toys for Tots Tuesday, on Dec. 15, for an entire day of giving to children in need.

The Toys for Tots Tuesday Special airs at 6:30 p.m. on KCCI and streams on Very Local. KCCI Sports Director Scott Reister will be LIVE at the Fareway on Oralabor Road in Ankeny, and will be joined by special guests. KCCI is also hosting a telethon from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., during which viewers can donate via phone.

“Our generous viewers continue to make us proud as we lead this annual tradition,” said KCCI President and General Manager Brian Sather. “We’re grateful to our partners and their employees for the time and care they give to help bring holiday joy to children across Iowa.”

“For more than two decades, Fareway customers have demonstrated the spirit of giving by rounding up their purchases from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, generating nearly $2.5 million for Toys for Tots,” said Reynolds W. Cramer, CEO of Fareway Stores, Inc. “We are grateful for their continued generosity and invite customers to bring a new, unwrapped toy to their local Fareway store now or on Toys for Tots Tuesday, December 15. With the support of our customers and communities, we hope to make this year’s toy drive the best one yet.”

Toys for Tots Tuesday, December 15 Sponsor Collection Locations
• American Equity, 1150 Locust Street, Suite 101, Des Moines
• IBEW 347, 6809 SE Bellagio Court, Ankeny
• Fareway (*all stores collecting now as well as on Toys for Tots Tuesday)

“Finding a present under the tree on Christmas morning is an experience every child deserves,” said Gunnar Spafford, Vice President of Business Development U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots. “Fareway has certainly done more than its fair share to help us bring that joy to children whose families have suffered so much. This has been an especially difficult year to raise toys and donations, so Fareway’s effort in support of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots has been a real godsend.”

For more than two decades, KCCI’s partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots has raised millions of dollars. The outreach effort has become a holiday tradition for families across central Iowa and has helped more than half a million area children.