Toys for Tots needs 3,000 more toys by tomorrow to make sure each of the 16,500 O'ahu kids it helps gets at least one gift on Christmas.

Organizers with Toys for Tots dashed out yesterday to buy $10,000 worth of toys at Kmart to help meet the need, but are still asking for the public's help in donating toys for kids ages newborn to 2, and 8 and up.

The charity is one of several in the Islands reporting sluggish donations this year. Advocates say the downward trend is consistent across the country as families pay more for fuel, utilities and other necessities, and have less — or nothing — to give to charities.

"We're really short," said Kimm Geise, O'ahu Salvation Army warehouse manager for the Toys for Tots program, which is jointly operated by the nonprofit and the Marine Corps Reserve.

The last day to donate toys is tomorrow.

So far, Toys for Tots has collected about 26,100 toys on O'ahu.

But many of those are small or free novelty toys or stuffed animals, which the charity does not give as stand-alone gifts. Statewide, the charity has collected more than 30,000 toys, compared to about 50,000 last year. The number of kids being helped is about the same as in 2006.

Ray Pagan, state treasurer for Street Bikers United Hawai'i, which puts on an annual drive for Toys for Tots, said he's shocked the charity is seeing a drop in donations this year.

"It's hard to believe that," said Pagan, who gave six toys this year and has donated for years.

"It's great to put a smile on their (kids') faces," he said.

Charity organizers said most Neighbor Island children have been taken care of, but there is still need on O'ahu. The organization often helps supplement toy donations by buying toys in bulk with monetary donations, said Staff Sgt. Jens Orsen, coordinator for Toys for Tots.

But he said he couldn't say whether the amount spent this year is higher than in years past. He did say, though, that donations to Toys for Tots are down nationwide, likely because of a host of toy recalls over the year and an economic downturn.

Other charities are also experiencing drops in donations.

Several Salvation Army-Hawai'i branches are seeing less money donated to their annual Red Kettle campaigns. The Kona corps has had a 20 percent decline in donations, collecting about $29,000 through last week, compared to more than $36,000 at the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the Windward O'ahu corps also saw a drop of about $7,000, compared to this time last year, and Hilo and Leeward donations are down, too. In Honolulu, donations have increased by 8 percent.

The kettles come down Christmas Eve. Maj. Jeff Martin, division secretary for Salvation Army-Hawai'i programs, said the kettle campaign is the main way branches statewide get the money they need to offer services throughout the year.

The Salvation Army kicked off the Red Kettle campaign Nov. 19, hoping to raise $750,000 in Hawai'i and Guam. So far, the agency is on pace to secure a modest gain in the region compared to 2006, when Guam and Hawai'i pulled in about $720,000, Martin said.

The Hawai'i Foodbank has seen a 5 percent drop in monetary donations this holiday season, compared to last year. But food donations are up because of lots of public appeals and awareness campaigns.

"The holiday giving on food is actually quite good right now," said Polly Kauahi, director of development. "But monetarily, we are down."

Financial donations are down compared to the same time last year for the Lokahi Giving Project, a partnership between KHON-2 and Keiki O Ka 'Aina Family Learning Centers, said Lokahi executive director Mariellen Jones. The year-round program gives material and financial support to people referred by various nonprofits, social service agencies and others statewide.

At the same time, operational costs are up, in part because of the rising cost of gasoline, Jones said. "It seems people are waiting to give their financial donations later or they've decided to put it to material items," she said.

Jones said Christmas also seemed to "come too fast" this year for people.

"I think people are concerned with so many other things," she said. "People are a little nervous about what is the financial climate of the future."

But Jones said she hopes donors will come through, adding that they always do.

"We live in a very, very generous state," she said. "The spirit of aloha is alive and well in Hawai'i."

Also, though the Community Clearinghouse, which is annually helped through The Advertiser Christmas Fund, has received an increase in monetary donations this year, fewer people are donating large goods.

The clearinghouse needs beds, couches and other large items for needy families, said Maria Chomyszak, program manager.

"We're not seeing a lot of the large items people ask for," she said.

The fund has raised about $118,000 so far — compared with $88,000 by this time last year — thanks largely to a handful of big donors.

By the end of the 2006 season, the fund had garnered about $214,000.

Chomyszak said the nonprofit is seeing far fewer small donations of $100 or less this year.

"We're not getting that big stack of envelopes," she said. "People don't have as much to donate."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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