The Twin Cities Geek 2020 Holiday Toy & Book Drive Was a HUGE SUCCESS!

Every year since 2015, we at Twin Cities Geek have organized our Holiday Toy & Book Drive to support the families served by Hallie Q. Brown Community Center and the individuals served by the Women’s Prison Book Project.

This year, the challenge was especially great. There was more need for donations than ever because of the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, but those same hardships meant many people weren’t in a position to donate. In addition, with stores closed to the public or operating at limited capacity and many Minnesotans limiting their time in retail spaces, we knew there would be fewer people walking past our donation boxes than usual—which is why we made sure to provide as many options as possible for donating online.

We’re thrilled to report that our geek community once again came together in a huge way. The 2019 Twin Cities Geek Holiday Toy & Book Drive drive collected 3,208 toys and gifts and 4,526 books, graphic novels, manga, and comics for a combined grand total of:

7,734 donations!

All of these items were supplemented by generous gift card donations to Hallie Q. Brown totaling $900!

So many donations!

Sorting the donations

So many books!

Volunteers sort book donations

Dropping off donations at the Hallie Q Brown Center!

It takes work to get all these donations inside the community center!

This effort was made possible by a team of 18 volunteers who made deliveries, sorted donations, and helped with content creation over a period of almost two months. This massive project would not be possible every year without geeks in our community going the extra mile.

Each and every one of you who volunteered, donated, or helped spread the word about this year’s Holiday Toy & Book Drive helped make a difference in someone’s life this holiday season. You all are amazing!

Donations for Families in Need

The donated toys, gifts, and children’s and young-adult books were distributed to children and their families in the Summit-University neighborhood in St. Paul through Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. As in past years, we especially asked you to donate items that would make good gifts for teens, and you came through again, giving 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 for being awesome!

Books for the Women’s Prison Book Project

Of the total donations, we also collected over 1,000 paperback books to donate to the Women’s Prison Book Project in Minneapolis! These will be distributed to women and gender-diverse people currently serving time in prison.

Many boxes of books!

Loading up the books for Women’s Prison Book Project

This car has a lot of books in it.

Again, thank you to everyone who donated paperbacks. You have helped people 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

Of course, the 2020 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 physical and virtual donation boxes for us. Many of them have been participating for multiple years, and we were so happy to have them back again—along with new locations for returning stores and four additional businesses joining us this year for the first time! Many stores also donated to the drive themselves in addition to hosting boxes.

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

All Systems Go Games and Movies
158 13th Ave. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413 (Map Link)

Brickmania GHQ
1618 Central Ave., Suite 110
Minneapolis, MN 55413 (Map Link)

Comic Book College
4632 Nicollet Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55419 (Map Link)

Dreamers Vault Games
4701 Hiawatha Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406 (Map Link)

Duck Duck Coffee
1830 E 38th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55407 (Map Link)
(612) 234-5802

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

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

Heroic Goods and Games
3458 Minnehaha Ave.
Minneapolis MN 55406 (Map Link)

Hot Comics & Collectibles
4400 Osseo Rd.
Minneapolis, MN 55412 (Map Link)

Knit & Bolt
2833 Johnson St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418 (Map Link)

Level Up Games
1425 LaSalle Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403 (Map Link)

Moon Palace Books
3032 Minnehaha Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406 (Map Link)

Once Upon A Crime
604 W 26th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55405 (Map Link)

Steamship Coffee & Games
711 W Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55408 (Map Link)

Tower Games
3920 Nicollet Ave. #150
Minneapolis, MN 55409 (Map Link)

Wild Rumpus
2720 W 43rd St.
Minneapolis, MN 55410 (Map Link)

St. Paul

The Gaming Goat
1326 Grand Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105 (Map Link)

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

Red Balloon Bookshop
891 Grand Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105 (Map Link)

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

Wet Paint
1684 Grand Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105 (Map Link)

North Metro

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

Dreamers Vault Games
11591 Theatre Dr. N
Champlin, MN 55316 (Map Link)

The Gamers Den
140 Buchanan St. N #142
Cambridge, MN 55008 (Map Link)

Games By James
327 Rosedale Center #652
Roseville, MN 55113 (Map Link)
(651) 636-0701

Hub Hobby
82 Minnesota Ave.
Little Canada, MN 55117 (Map Link)

Punch-Out Gaming
828 Lake St. S
Forest Lake, MN 55025 (Map Link)

South Metro

Blue Sun Soda Shop
6433 Penn Ave. S
Richfield, MN 55423 (Map Link)
(612) 200-9606

Dreamers Vault Games
14332 Burnhaven Dr.
Burnsville, MN 55306 (Map Link)

Dreamers Vault Games
207 13th Ave. S
South St. Paul, MN 55075 (Map Link)

Games By James
1093 Burnsville Center
Burnsville, MN 55306 (Map Link)
(952) 892-1004

Games By James
Mall of America
358 East Broadway
Bloomington, MN 55425 (Map Link)
(952) 854-4747

Games By James
2510 Southdale Center
Edina, MN 55435 (Map Link)
(952) 925-9656

The Gaming Goat
1095 Diffley Rd.
Eagan, MN 55123 (Map Link)

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

Hot Comics & Collectibles
26 W 66th St.
Richfield, MN 55423 (Map Link)

Hub Hobby
6410 Penn Ave. S
Richfield, MN 55423 (Map Link)

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

Mind’s Eye Comics
200 E Travelers Trail, Suite 105
Burnsville, MN 55337 (Map Link)

East Metro

Level Up Games
120 2nd St. E
Hastings, MN 55033 (Map Link)

West Metro

Cream & Amber
1605 Mainstreet
Hopkins, MN 55343 (Map Link)

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

Games By James
Ridgedale Center
12401 Wayzata Blvd., Level 2
Minnetonka, MN 55305 (Map Link)
(952) 545-6616

In closing, one more enormous thank-you to our volunteers and everyone in the Twin Cities geek community who participated in the drive this holiday season!