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.

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 the challenges of Covid-19 and 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 time to plan a pick-up, 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, we have two options for you.  If you chose delivery, your delivery will be changed to a pick-up at our toy room (Triphammer Marketplace) location.  If you chose pick-up, that will not change.  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 a text message or email letting you know that your application has been received and accepted.  A confirmation will also be made for pick-up and delivery choice 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.  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 22, 2020.
9.  Why did you change the application deadline?  The application deadline was changed to November 22, 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 delivery will be able to be made.
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.  Why are you only delivering to adults at home this year?  This has not been the case in years past.  We know that we have put the gift bags in sheds, out back on a porch, and even given them to neighbors.  Given that many kids are home from school doing school online this year and that crime has increased in many areas, we want to make sure that the parents get the gifts and are able to give them to the children when the time is right.  We do not have extra funds to replace gifts that are lost after they are delivered.
13.  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.
14.  What can we expect for gifts for our children this year?  Cops, Kids and Toys has not been able to fundraise as we normally would in 2020.  Our goal is to keep the program running, so that we can continue to help children in years to come.  We are also anticipating a larger number of children needing help this year.  Given all of this, we feel that we will most likely be cutting back on the number of gifts that the children receive.  We have been purchasing gifts from local businesses since April and the gifts that we have are of very high quality.  We are hoping to get many donations to help meet the needs of all of the children that apply, but we truly won't know until after November 22, 2020 and the donation bins are collected.  Our goal is always to give the children gifts that they will enjoy. 
15.  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 2020.
16.  I have an infant.  What kind of gifts can I expect?  Because of our very limited funds this year and the anticipation of a higher number of applications, we have decided to cut back on the amount we spend on infants and focus on the children who know that it's the holidays.
17.  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. 
18.  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.