Suffolk’s Toys for Tots campaign coordinator says the Suffolk News-Herald’s Cheer Fund is a big help in his mission to supply needy local kids with toys at Christmas.

“I truly appreciate the support that contributors give to the Cheer Fund, as it provides needed resources to fund the Toys for Tots campaign each Christmas,” John Woleben said.

The fund was established by the paper during the Great Depression, and has been supporting the Toys for Tots campaign for a number of years.

The cash is a big help because it allows Woleben to purchase toys in bulk, rather than pay higher retail prices.

“The funds that they contribute go two or three times further than if they went to a retail toy store, because I buy the toys from wholesalers,” he said.

“That really does help when you contribute to the Cheer Fund; say I get $30,000, I buy $60,000- to $80,000-worth of toys because of my purchasing power. That’s really wonderful.”

Woleben said he has been busy getting collection boxes for new toys out after the campaign was launched in Suffolk at the Hampton Roads Radio Control Club’s Fun Fly earlier this month.

“The number of people interested in collecting toys seems to be greater than ever before,” he said.

“I have had more people call me and want to have drop boxes in their locations, and that is a good sign.”

If you’d like to help the Cheer Fund, just send a check to Cheer Fund, P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23434, or stop by the Suffolk News-Herald’s offices at 130 S. Saratoga St. Visitors to the office with checks may find their photo in the paper if a reporter is close by with a camera.