One of the city's long-standing holiday traditions is back for another year.

The Northwestel Holiday Toy Drive kicked off its 2024 campaign at its retail store on Tuesday. This year's drive will run until Dec. 9 with the goal of collecting as many toys as possible to give to Santa Claus in order to make sure no one gets left off of the list.

Beverly Howard-Brushett was on hand representing the Salvation Army, which will be the benefactor of the donated toys.

She had some words of encouragement for the families that rely on this, despite how ashamed they might feel about it.

"You are providing for your children," she said during the opening event of the toy drive. "No shame in this, we are happy to serve you."

Howard-Brushett noted that, year after year, she's seen a growing demand in this toy drive, highlighting parents who just put their kids back to school are already dealing with those expenses, along with the overall cost of living being another driving factor, she added.

"Our numbers are going up," she said. "By all indications of the food bank increases, new faces, new families coming in. We expect the numbers to be up for Christmas."

The toy drive, she added, can be a stress reliever for many.

"I knew what it was like not to have a bunch of stuff Christmas time, but when you have even a few toys to open up, you felt so good," said Howard-Brushett.

Mayor Rebecca Alty was also on hand for the opening, as was Education, Culture and Employment Caitlin Cleveland. Both dropped by with goods to give.

Alty also had a message for those who may be thinking about drop-shipping their donation.

"I would also emphasize to support local when you are participating in this," said Alty. "Amazon doesn't need our business, but the local stores do."