Holiday Lights Steps Up to Help Toys for Tots Reach its Goal

For Immediate Release
Contact Robb Leer. 612-701-0608

Holiday Lights Steps Up to Help Toys for Tots Reach its Goal

With less than 48 hours until deadline, Holiday Lights announces new drop off location

ST. PAUL, MINN. – December 18, 2015 – Holiday Lights in the Park today announced their partnership with Twin Cities Toys for Tots and KARE11, becoming an official drop off point for toys the charity program to help them meet their goal as they race towards their deadline this Saturday, December 19. Toys for Tots collects gifts every year for children in need from ages 0-15. Supporters can drop off gifts at Phalen Park from 5-10 p.m., while Holiday Lights is open.

Holiday Lights in the Park is the Midwest’s largest outdoor holiday light display and has illuminated Phalen Park since 2008. The lights will burn nightly until January 1, 2016. Visitors tour the 60-plus displays in the warm confines of their vehicle, making weather a non-factor. More than 20,000 cars have visited Holiday Lights in the Park in each of its seven previous seasons making it the area’s largest nightly holiday celebration. This year’s theme is “Winter Wonderland” and features a large number of never-seen-before displays.

Through Holiday Lights the Saint Paul Police Foundation raises funds to make the St. Paul area safer for citizens and law enforcement officials. Funds support community engagement efforts, safety equipment and department outreach.

In the past seven years, Holiday Lights has raised nearly $400,000 for a variety of St. Paul and East Metro nonprofits. This year, proceeds from the event will go to support the work of the Saint Paul Police Foundation and the Union Gospel Mission Child Development Center. Since its inception in 2005, the Foundation has raised nearly $5 million to help support numerous SPPD initiatives including providing lifesaving equipment, Shop with Cops, the Safe City Camera program, Cops and Kids program and a variety of resources for crime victims.

2015 Holiday Lights in the Park Police Meet and Greets at a glance:

What: Nightly visits from St. Paul Police Officers at Holiday Lights in the Park event.

When: Event Hours 5pm to 10pm thru January 1, 2016. Officers will be on hand from 6 to 8 p.m. each night.

Where: Phalen Park- 1615 Phalen Drive East, St. Paul, MN. Media is asked to enter via main gate to park.

Who: St. Paul Police officers and volunteers from the Saint Paul Police Foundation and other supporting organizations.

About Holiday Lights:

Holiday Lights in the Park is a venture of the Saint Paul Police Foundation with the sole purpose of creating a fun and affordable holiday event that raises funds to help protect the men and women who protect the residents of St. Paul. All of the net proceeds of the event will be distributed through the Saint Paul Police foundation to the St. Paul Police Department to provide enhanced safety and training to officers and help fund the department’s many volunteer organizations. Holiday Lights in the Park is open nightly from November 24-January 1, 2016 at St. Paul’s Phalen Park. To purchase tickets you can visit our website: http://www.saintpaulpolicefoundation.com/, or for more information you can find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stpaulpolicefoundation or follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StPaulPoliceFdn. An event like this couldn’t happen without the dedication of numerous volunteers, including the department’s Reserve Unit, Explorer Program, Historical Society, Band and the Mounted and Motors Units. Volunteers from the St Paul Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) the SPPD Reserves and Explorers and Police Officers will be on hand each night to make sure the event runs smoothly.

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