VOLUSIA COUNTY -- A couple of organizations that help make the holidays brighter for children are experiencing toy drive troubles.
There is a stack of "angels" waiting to be picked up from the Salvation Army of Volusia and Flagler counties, which consists of about 1,000 names.
With the Daytona Beach Toys for Tots program, there's not much in the storage sheds.
The economy is a double-edged sword for these groups. The demand is greater, and the number of people who can help is shrinking.
"We're just calling companies and asking them if they would take a few angels here and there,” said Capt. Karla Perez from the Salvation Army. “People have been calling in asking for two or three angels."
"We knew this was going to be a tough year,” said Donna Victory, the Toys for Tots organizer. “It started last year. We were 2,000 toys under what we had the previous year. So we knew it was coming."
To make things even more difficult, many Marine Reservists who normally help out Daytona Beach's Toys for Tots program are being deployed to Iraq later this week.
If you'd like to help, contact your local Toys for Tots or Salvation Army chapter.
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