University Parking Services is teaming up with the Marines in its own spinoff of Toys for Tots to help collect toys for needy children while eliminating citations on campus.
Toys for Tickets allows anyone who has received a citation on the Texas Tech campus to bring their citation to the parking office along with toys of equal or greater value to the ticket and the citation will be erased, said Heather Medley, marketing and training coordinator for University Parking Services.
“We have been working with the Marines for four years and it’s been great,” she said. “We’ve gotten a great response.”
The toys brought in need to be new and unwrapped and can be for any age group, Medley said. Even those without citations are encouraged to bring toys.
The department has placed some limitations on the citations it will void, she said, and citations for blocking or parking in a handicapped space or for using forged or stolen permits must be paid in full.
“Citations with late fees still apply,” Medley said. “We have had students who had a $20 citation and a $10 late fee bring in several toys that added up to $30 worth and we were able to void the ticket.”
After the toys are collected, they are taken to the fairgrounds where they are sorted into age groups to get ready for distribution, she said.
“We receive hundreds of toys,” Medley said. “It’s great to see them all after they are at the fairgrounds, it really shows how giving people are, even with the economy being as it is.”
Estefan Jimenez, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Cleburne, said he thinks University Parking Services should offer a year-round alternative to the citation similar to the Toys for Tickets program.
“Around Thanksgiving they could collect food for families,” he said. “They could change it throughout the year to always have something to benefit other people.”
To sign up to receive the toys donated, families can contact the Guadalupe Economic Services Corporation or the Marines for more information, Medley said.
“Every year we like to do something above and beyond,” she said. “I think this is a very special thing that students, faculty and staff can all be apart of.”
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