The Twin Cities Geek 2016 Holiday Toy & Book Drive Was a HUGE SUCCESS!

Thanks to you, our second annual Twin Cities Geek Holiday Toy & Book Drive was an amazing success! Together we collected an unprecedented number of donated gifts to make the holidays brighter for so many Twin Cities families, and boy, did the Twin Cities geek community pull out all the stops. Just check out these numbers.

Donations for Families in Need

The 2016 Twin Cities Geek Holiday Toy & Book drive collected 1,514 toys and gifts and 1,460 children’s and young-adult books, graphic novels, manga, and comics for a combined total of:

 2,974 

toys, games, young people’s books and other items for the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. The gifts were distributed to 642 children and their families in the Summit-University neighborhood in St. Paul. Each and every one of you who donated helped make a difference in a young person’s life this holiday season. You are awesome!

Here are some photos and a video of the impressive Twin Cities Geek donation to Hallie Q. Brown Community Center!

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We especially asked you to donate items that would make good gifts for teens, and you did not disappoint, coming through with all manner of tabletop games, video games, graphic novels, collectibles, YA books, DVDs, and more. This is important, as toy-drive initiatives like Toys for Tots so often focus on gifts for younger children—tots. But we geeks are well aware how much it can mean as a teenager to receive a great gift that reflects our interests, and the income level of our family does not change that simple fact.

So, on behalf of all the young adults whose lives you have touched, Twin Cities Geek would like to extend another extra thank you. Thank you for being awesome!

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center also thanked us in their newsletter, which you can read here.

Books for the Women’s Prison Book Project

Together we also collected 242 paperback books to donate to the Women’s Prison Book Project in Minneapolis! These books will be delivered to Boneshaker Books, who will distribute them to women and transgender and genderqueer people currently serving time in prison.

Again, thank you to everyone who donated paperback books. You have helped touch the lives of people who you will probably never meet, but for whom something as simple as a book can mean so much. And that is a feeling a lot of us geeks can relate to, regardless of our circumstances.

Special Thanks to Local Business and Organizations

The 2016 Twin Cities Geek Holiday Toy & Book Drive would not have been possible without the generous support of local geek-friendly businesses and organizations throughout the metro who agreed to host donation boxes for us. So this is a special thank-you to all of them, and we would like to encourage the community to check out these wonderful businesses and organizations throughout the year!

Minneapolis

Brickmania Toyworks
1620 Central Ave. NE #170
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 545-5263
Map Link

Comic Book College
3145 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 822-2309
Map Link

Crafty Planet
2833 Johnson St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
(612) 788-1180
Map Link

Dreamers Vault Games
4701 Hiawatha Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
(612) 724-4543
Map Link

Electric Fetus
2000 4th Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
(612) 870-9300
Map Link

Fifth Element
2411 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(612) 377-0044
Map Link

Geek Partnership Society
1121 NE Jackson St. #106
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 424-2477
Map Link

GLITCH
1829 Riverside Ave. #200
Minneapolis, MN 55454
(320) 321-9361
Map Link

Highlander Games
3952 Central Ave. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55421
(612) 479-0870
Map Link

Mead Hall Games & Comics
1425 LaSalle Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 315-3945
Map Link

Midwest Makeup Supply
617 W Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 822-2150
Map Link

Tower Games
3920 Nicollet Ave #150
Minneapolis, MN 55409
(612) 823-4477
Map Link

Universe Games and Steamship Coffee & Tea
711 W Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 844-1011
Map Link

Saint Paul

Fantasy Flight Games Center
1975 County Rd. B2 W
Roseville, MN 55113
(651) 379-3801
Map Link

Mischief Toy Store
818 Grand Ave.
St Paul, MN 55105
(651) 493-3307
Map Link

Source Comics & Games
2057 Snelling Ave. N
Roseville, MN 55113
(651) 645-0386
Map Link

Wet Paint
684 Grand Ave.
St Paul, MN 55105
(651) 698-6431
Map Link

South Metro

Brickmania
Mall of America, 352 E Broadway
Bloomington, MN 55425
(952) 854-9850
Map Link

Hot Comics & Collectibles
224 Broadway St. S
Jordan, MN 55352
(952) 492-7870
Map Link

Hot Comics & Collectibles
6609 Nicollet Ave.
Richfield, MN 55423
(612) 798-3936
Map Link

Issues Needed Comics
15465 Cedar Ave. S #160
Apple Valley, MN 55124
(952) 683-9339
Map Link

Marbles: The Brain Store
Mall of America, 216 West Market
Bloomington, MN 55425
(952) 854-5804
Map Link

Mind’s Eye Comics
1565 Cliff Rd. #2
Eagan, MN 55122
(651) 683-0085
Map Link

North Metro

Blue Sun Soda Shop
1625 County Hwy. 10 D
Spring Lake Park, MN 55432
(763) 432-0704
Map Link

The Gamer’s Den
140 Buchanan St. N #142
Cambridge, MN 55008
(763) 689-5370
Map Link

Village Games
11591 Theatre Dr. N
Champlin, MN 55316
(763) 506-0303
Map Link

East Metro

Level Up Games
207 13th Ave. S
South St. Paul, MN 55075
(651) 493-9176
Map Link

Toyriffic
2950 White Bear Ave.
Maplewood, MN 55109
(651) 748-9455
Map Link

Toyriffic
2111 Coulee Rd.
Hudson, WI 54016
(715) 386-0003
Map Link

West Metro

Dreamers Vault Games
3015 Utah Ave. S
St Louis Park, MN 55426
(952) 938-8163
Map Link

Hot Comics & Collectibles
3532 Winnetka Ave. N
New Hope, MN 55427
(763) 593-1223
Map Link

Fantastic job to everyone Twin Cities geek community who participated in the drive this holiday season!