Kindness Matters: no act of kindness is too small

Local toy drives seek community's help

12/1/2024

‘Tis the season when local residents open their hearts to bring holiday cheer to children who are less fortunate. Toys for Tots has several convenient local drop-off locations and there are also Angel Tree locations which give donors the opportunity to shop for gifts for a specific child in need. In addition to those worthy causes, there are also “Stuff the Cruiser” events which use a Mount Dora Police cruiser to accept toy donations specifically for underprivileged local children.

All toys should be new and unwrapped. Here are more details for some of the local toy drives.

TOYS FOR TOTS:

Drop-off locations:
W.T. Bland Library
Mount Dora Fire Department
Mount Dora Police Department
Mount Dora City Hall
Drop-off deadline: December 6

ANGEL TREES / ADOPT-A-CHILD

Drop-off location: W.T. Bland Library, Donnelly Street
Drop-off deadline: December 9
Drop-off location: Mount Dora City Hall, Human Resources office (Salvation Army Angel Tree)
Drop-off deadline: December 7

northeast community toy drive:

Drop-off at Mount Dora Walmart during the “Stuff the Cruiser” events in front of the store on December 1,7 and 14 from noon to 4 p.m. Just look for the Mount Dora Police Department cruiser and signage.

mount dora children's home

Drop-off location: Lowes
Drop-off deadline: December 12

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, visit the area's website and download the area's free mobile app. Be sure to follow Mount Dora Buzz's Instagram and Facebook page for more local info.

Mailbox for “Letters to Santa” reappears in Mount Dora

12/1/2024

Once again, Santa has taken note that historic Mount Dora is arguably the best little Christmas town in Florida. With its twinkling lights, festive decorations and holiday events, Mount Dora is the perfect place for kids this season.

Since 2019, elves have quietly delivered a bright red “letters to Santa” mailbox in front of Linda Bokland’s cheerful purple cottage. This mailbox is exclusively for kids to drop their well-wishes, questions and requests to Santa and get a personalized response. To accommodate the hundreds of letters from excited children, local elves help process the mail and this year is expected to be the same.

RELATED: Holiday Event Guide for Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis

Since Saint Nick is busy supervising his mischievous elves before Christmas, Mrs. Claus will be personally replying to all letters that include a return address. The red mailbox is located at 201 W. 11th Avenue. The deadline to drop off letters is December 20, and no postage is necessary.

Meanwhile, Santa can be seen in Mount Dora during his annual tour across the City on December 16, 18, and 19, and he will also be in downtown Mount Dora for photo ops on December 6 at Sunset Park during Christmas Walk. Find other local holiday events here.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, click here and follow Mount Dora Buzz on Facebook. For local things to do, click here and for the area's free mobile app, click here.