A television station in Madison was part of a holiday effort to collect toys for children ahead of the 2016 holiday season that gathered toys for 13,950 kids in Dane County.
WKOW has sponsored Toys for Tots for 28 years. The station partnered with the Marine Corps Reserve to help collect new, unwrapped toys for needy children. The toys were collected during November and early December at hundreds of drop-off sites and in Dane County. In 2016, the station collected 61,855 toys and $13,868 to purchase more toys.
WKOW ran an extensive six week marketing campaign including on-air promotion, web promotion, news stories, morning show interviews and daily updates in all newscasts. The value of the 2016 promotion totaled $152,000.
The station also collects toys in its lobby. Employees help decorate the lobby, make toys donations, and help with distribution.
