Donate some love to Spark of Love

Want to spark some holiday feelings in a local child’s life? Drop off a new, unwrapped toy at a Costa Mesa or Newport Beach fire station or lifeguard headquarters.

Both departments are participating in the annual Spark of Love toy drive, where fire departments throughout Orange County collect then distribute toys to Southern California children Christmas Day.

The drive ends Dec. 24.

Last year, the Spark of Love toy drive distributed more than 300,000 toys to kids in Orange County.

In total, when counting Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties too, more than 600,000 toys were distributed last year, officials said.

For more information on what can be donated and where to drop it off, call Costa Mesa Fire Department’s Brenda Emrick at (714) 327-7406 or Newport Beach Fire Department’s Jennifer Schulz at (949) 644-3110.

Monetary donations can be made to “Orange County Toy Collaborative” in care of St. Vincent de Paul, 675 N. Euclid St., Anaheim, CA 92801, Attn: Demetria Lee.

— Joseph Serna