Foley Lends Former Library Building to South Baldwin Toys for Tots for 2026 Holiday Season

FOLEY, Ala. — The South Baldwin County Toys for Tots campaign has a home base for the 2026 holiday season after the Foley City Council agreed to let volunteers use the first floor of the former Foley library building, at no cost, to sort and hand out Christmas gifts for thousands of local children.

The council approved the request Monday, Oct. 19. Under the agreement, the campaign can use the first floor of the building on East Laurel Avenue, beside Foley City Hall, through Dec. 31, 2026.

The South Baldwin Toys for Tots campaign is sponsored by the Cpl. Joseph Whitehead Detachment of the Marine Corps League. Last year, the local campaign provided toys to about 5,000 children in Foley and nearby communities.

How the request came together

Toys for Tots representatives reached out to Councilman Tim Lower while looking for a location for this year’s campaign. Lower said he and other city officials were glad to be able to help.

“Toys for Tots and the Marine Corps League volunteers make sure no child in South Baldwin goes without a Christmas,” Lower said. “When they needed space, Team Foley responded quickly, and I’m proud we could help. I encourage everyone to drop off a new, unwrapped toy this season.”

Cian Harrison, Foley’s executive director for general government and administration, said the city was able to move fast once the need was clear.

“The city is very happy to be able to support Toys for Tots,” Harrison said. “They needed a place to organize and distribute toys to local children, and the city was able to respond quickly and provide a space.”

The item was one of many on a long Oct. 19 council agenda. As South AL News reported in its preview of that meeting, the agenda also included economic development agreements for the Magnolia Walk development, Highway 98 pedestrian safety improvements, a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and a $500 donation to Wreaths Across America at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort.

Why space matters for a toy drive

A holiday toy campaign that serves thousands of children needs more than collection boxes. Donated toys arrive from businesses, schools, churches and individual donors over a period of weeks, and volunteers have to count them, sort them by age and type, store them safely and then stage them so families can pick them up before Christmas. That work takes a large, secure, indoor area that is available for an extended stretch of time.

Finding that kind of space is a recurring challenge for volunteer-run drives. A building that is empty and owned by a local government can be a practical answer, especially when the timing lines up with a planned renovation that has not yet begun.

About the former library building

The building Toys for Tots will use has a long civic history. It served as the Foley Public Library from 1984 until July 2026. The library moved to a larger building next to City Hall in 1984, and a second floor was added in 2008, as South AL News detailed in its history of the library, From 500 Donated Books to a $20 Million Building.

The Foley Community Library opened in its new home on East Orange Avenue in August. The $20 million, 40,000-square-foot library and community center at 230 E. Orange Ave. opened to the public Aug. 4 and includes a sensory room, children’s and teen areas, a STEAM-STEM lab and a multipurpose meeting room. When the old library opened in 1984, Foley had about 4,500 residents. The city now has about 30,000, according to the city.

The city is working on plans to renovate the old library building for municipal offices and other government uses. City officials have said the renovation will help bring together departments that currently operate from several locations. The Toys for Tots agreement covers the holiday season, ending Dec. 31.

About Toys for Tots

Toys for Tots dates to 1947, when Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Bill Hendricks and a group of reservists in Los Angeles collected and gave away about 5,000 toys to children in need. The next year, the Marine Corps Reserve adopted the effort as a national program. Today it is run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve with support from the Marine Toys for Tots Program, a nonprofit organization.

The basic model has stayed the same for decades. Local campaigns collect new, unwrapped toys during the fall and distribute them to families with children in need during the holiday season. Giving new, unwrapped toys allows the gifts to be matched to children by age and lets families wrap them at home.

Local campaigns are typically organized by a Marine Corps Reserve unit or, in communities without one, by a Marine Corps League detachment or other approved local group. In South Baldwin, that sponsor is the Cpl. Joseph Whitehead Detachment.

About the Marine Corps League

The Marine Corps League is a nationwide organization of current and former Marines and associate members. It was founded in 1923, with Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, a former commandant of the Marine Corps, among its early leaders, and it was chartered by Congress in 1937. The league is organized into local units called detachments, which often take on community service projects in addition to supporting Marines, veterans and their families.

Across south Alabama, Marine Corps League detachments have long been part of the holiday toy effort. In 2014, for example, South AL News reported that a Baldwin County drive run with the Jesse Andrews Jr. Detachment of the Marine Corps League at the United States Sports Academy in Daphne collected more than 5,000 toys.

The scale of the South Baldwin campaign

In 2025, the South Baldwin County campaign served about 5,000 children in Foley and surrounding communities. The local campaign’s Toys for Tots web page reports 11,821 toys distributed and 4,701 children supported in 2025.

Foley is one of the fastest-growing cities in Baldwin County, and South Baldwin as a whole has added many new residents in recent years. That growth increases both the number of potential donors and the number of families who may need a little help at Christmas.

How residents can help

• Donate a new, unwrapped toy. Toys for Tots accepts only new, unwrapped toys. Lower encouraged residents to drop one off this season.
• Look for collection boxes. Toys for Tots boxes typically appear in stores, offices, churches and public buildings during the fall. The local campaign’s page on the national Toys for Tots website lists information for the South Baldwin County campaign.
• Volunteer. Sorting and distribution depend on volunteers. Residents interested in helping can contact the South Baldwin County campaign through the Toys for Tots website.
• Families in need. Families seeking assistance should contact the South Baldwin County Toys for Tots campaign directly for information on how to request toys.

What to know

• What: The South Baldwin County Toys for Tots campaign will use the first floor of the former Foley library building to organize and distribute toys.
• Where: East Laurel Avenue, next to Foley City Hall.
• Cost: The city is providing the space at no charge.
• How long: Through Dec. 31, 2026.
• Approved: By the Foley City Council on Monday, Oct. 19.
• Sponsor: The Cpl. Joseph Whitehead Detachment of the Marine Corps League.
• Last year: About 5,000 children in Foley and surrounding communities received toys.