Question/Answer on Donation Bins

1.  How can my business receive a donation bin to put out to support Cops, Kids and Toys?  Please email info@copskidsandtoys.org and let us know that you'd like a bin and we will happily drop one off and pick it up in Early December.

2.  Where are the donation bins located?  A list of donation bin locations are on our donation page on this web site.  Link to Donation Page.

Question/Answer on Volunteering

1.  My group would like to volunteer.  How do we go about setting up a time?  Please email info@copskidsandtoys.org and let us know that you'd like to volunteer, when your available and the number of people that you anticipate helping out.  We will do our best to meet your groups' needs.  Please know that we are limited to how many people we are able to have in the toy room at one given Covid19 and the standards we have to follow.

Question/Answer on Application

1.  Does Cops, Kids and Toys help children outside of Tompkins, County, New York?  Unfortunately, we are unable to help children outside of Tompkins County, New York. 
2. Why are you not delivering gifts this year?  Due to continued staffing shortages in departments, we are unable to know if we will have the manpower needed to make deliveries in a timely manner possible. Because of this, we decided it was best for our planning purposes to only have pick-ups so that applicants had plenty of time to plan their way to a  pick-up location, rather than spring this on them at the last minute.
3.  I chose a pick-up location, and now I want to change locations. Is this a possibility?  Unfortunately, after a pick-up location is confirmed, no change can be made. 
4.  My application has been confirmed, but we have moved.  What happens now?  If you have moved and still live in Tompkins County, NY, your pick-up location will remain the same, even if you move across town.  If you have moved out of Tompkins County, we will have to cancel your application.
5.  How do I know if Cops, Kids and Toys received my application?  You will receive an email letting you know that your application has been received and accepted.  A confirmation will also be made for your chosen pick up location in that same text or email.
6.  Can I apply to other organizations and still receive gifts from Cops, Kids and Toys?  Unfortunately, we are only able to serve children who have applied to one organization that helps children over the holiday season.  We work closely with other organizations and if a second application is found, your application for Cops, Kids and Toys will be removed, even if you've already received a confirmation of your application. Because verifying applications happens at the busiest time of year for us, we will be unable to notify you of your application removal.  Bottom Line:  Don't apply to other organizations for help if you apply to Cops, Kids and Toys.  If you decide to apply to other organizations email us at info@copskidsandtoys.org and let us know, so that we can remove your application.
7.  I don't have custody of my children.  Will Cops, Kids and Toys still help me get my children gifts?  We can only provide gifts to applicants that are the legal guardian of the children that apply.  We cannot help grandparents, and other relatives unless they have custody of the children they are seeking help.  If we ask for proof of guardianship, and it can't be shown, we are unable to accept your application. 
8.   When is the application deadline?  The deadline for applications for Cops, Kids and Toys is November 21, 2021.
9.  Why did you change the application deadline?  The application deadline was changed to November 21, because we have increased our application numbers each year and need more time to get the tags ready and checked against other organizations helping families in Tompkins County.
10.  Help!  I've missed the deadline.  Can Cops, Kids, and Toys still help me?  Once the deadline is over we will no longer take applications.  We have a list of people that have been chronically late with their application in the past.  If you're on that list, we will be unable to help you.  If you're not on that list, we will take your information down and if we have any toys left for the children you have we may be able to help out.  If we do not have any gifts left, we will not be able to help.  If we are able to help, you will have to pick up your gifts at the Toy Room at Triphammer Marketplace, no other pick-up locations will be available.
11.  I won't be in town on Pick-Up Day.  Will you hold my child's gifts for me?  We are not able to hold gifts after Delivery Day. 
12.  How long does the application take to complete?  The application takes between 5-10 minutes for the average person to complete.  It's important to tell us about your child, so that we can choose gifts that they may like.
13.  What can we expect for gifts for our children this year?  Cops, Kids and Toys purchases gifts as well as receives many donations from the community.  We do our best to meet the children's wishes.  We do not provide video games, gaming systems or other electronics.  We also do not purchase big ticket items.  When big ticket items are donated we look through the applications for people that applied on time and find a special child who will enjoy it.  We will not have Cornell Athletic tickets or gift cards.
14.  My older kids love the movie tickets that you normally give out, will you be giving movie tickets out again this year?  Because the movie theater had not opened when we were making decisions, we have decided to not purchase movie tickets for 2021.
15.  My child really needs clothes and would like gift cards to get them.  Cops, Kids and Toys does not buy gift cards or give out clothes as gifts.  If we receive gift cards through the donations, we hand them out and hope that they work. 

16.  Why am I being asked to give Cops, Kids and Toys a letter from my child's school that states we are not receiving holiday gift help through the school?  Several schools have been unwilling to work with Cops, Kids and Toys to ensure that the families being helped by Cornell Elves and other holiday gift giving help the school provides are not also on the Cops, Kids and Toys list.  To ensure that we are only helping families receiving help from one organization, we need your help to prove this.  We are sorry that it has to be this way, and if schools were willing to work with Cops, Kids and Toys by sharing the list of families they are serving in the most confidential manner possible, we would not require this information.  Please talk to your school if we are asking for this information, and understand it is to ensure that each child is only receiving help from one organization.

17.  Why am I being asked to redo my application with my child's interests?  We began in May working with small businesses in Tompkins County to purchase gifts for the children this year.  We bought with interests in mind.  We do not buy or have gift cards, video gaming systems or games and really need to know the interests of the children, so that the volunteers choosing toys for the kids have a chance of choosing gifts that the children will like. Errors often happen when we go in and work on applications after they have been submitted.  With this in mind, it is better for you to go and redo the application, so that you know the correct information is there.  We work hard to get good gifts for the children and want your child to enjoy the gifts that they receive from us.

18.  Help!  I missed Pick-Up Day.  How can you help me?  Volunteers work year round to raise funds and take donations to make the gifts that Cops, Kids and Toys donates available to families in Tompkins County.  We send an email reminder the weekend before pick-up day to remind families it's about to happen.  We are not able to hold gifts after pick-up day, as we are donated the space we are in and need to vacate it.  We also are an all volunteer organization, and we had volunteers available at the pick-up locations for 9 hours at each location.  We simply cannot extend the pick-up day, but will make accommodations for parents that work and need to pick up later or earlier on pick-up day at the Triphammer Marketplace Toy Room, if we are notified a week before, so that we can make arrangements.  We cannot field phone calls the day of pick-up day asking for special treatment or accommodations, we serve hundreds of families and simply can't do it at the last minutes.  Please put pick-up day in your calendar as soon as you're notified your application has been accepted. 

19.  Why does the applicant have to be the person to pick up the gifts?  We want the applicant to be the person picking up the gifts, so that as an organization, we know that the children will receive the gifts.  It's also a way for the family to thank the volunteers that help to make the gifts available for the family asking for the help. 

20.  My kids won't like the gifts they received, can I exchange them?  Unfortunately, we are not able to exchange gifts.  Each child receives the same number of gifts, books, stocking stuffers, if any are available, and a stuffed animal if age appropriate.  We try to make the children happy, but sometimes miss the mark and for that we are sorry.