Toys for Tots donations fill Palatine council chamber

Palatine's village council chamber brimmed this week with gifts that will go to less-fortunate children for Christmas.

Mayor Jim Schwantz, who barely could be seen above the pile of gifts in front of the village council dais, congratulated the Palatine Police and Fire Benevolent Association for its work in heading the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots effort locally.

He also thanked all who donated to the annual campaign.

"It's just amazing what this community continues to do with regard to the outpouring of generosity," Schwantz said.

Toys reached at least 4 feet high and extended about 15 feet from where the village council sits.

"I'll just let everybody know, there are no risers underneath this," Schwantz said. "This is toys from top to bottom."

Toys for Tots collects new, unwrapped toys and distributes them to less-fortunate children in the community where the campaign is conducted. In 1995, the secretary of defense approved Toys for Tots as an activity of the Marine Corps and an official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve.