December 1, 2025 • 7 mins
We spoke with Amanda Sirica about the Toys for Tots Toy Drive at Westfarms Mall on Saturday, December 13, from 9 a.m. to noon.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Allison de Merz. My guest today is Amanda Sirikashi is
a spokesperson for the West Farms Mall.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, good morning, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You bet you have so many great events coming up
at the mall, one that I'm going to be at,
So why don't we start out with that. On December thirteenth,
it's the US Marines Toys for Tot's Toy Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well, we love the Toy Drive each year, and this
year is extra special with NBC and Telemundo Connecticut connecting
you to Joy Toy Drive in partnership with Harford Healthcare
and Comcast. So we will have the NBC team there
that you can come out and meet. I hear that
you may be there, and I also know that the
(00:48):
US Marine Corps will be there and you'll all be
collecting toys to benefit Hartford and Litchfield County.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And last year I was there and to see the
Marines on this big truck and people driving up and
dropping off the toys with their children, and I believe
the Marines had a toy for each child, just like
a little one. It was so beautiful. It was just
amazing to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Oh I'm so glad you loved it, and we look
forward to doing that again. And the Toy Drive is
part of West Farms Community First initiative where we like
to give back to the community that supports us throughout
the entire year. There's some surprises in store each year
and we're looking forward to doing those again this year.
Harvard Healthcare has been a partner of the Toy Drive
(01:33):
for three years. They've surprised us with an ambulance full
of toys. Last year we had lifestar Land with toys
in it. We're looking forward to hopefully having great weather
to do that again. So there's a lot to see.
We have Santa Claus arrives on a fire truck around
our ring road around the mall and officially cuts the
red ribbon with the US Marines to open the truck,
(01:57):
which is twenty six feet long and fill it up.
So we really encourage a community to come out to
help us do that.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
It is so wonderful. So it's from nine till noon
on December thirteenth. Which side of the mall should they
go on?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It will be the backside of the mall by California
Pizza Kitchen. That's where we'll be located. But we have
a second drop off location inside of the mall. So
if you're there shopping and you have your errands to
run and you want to stop by the Macy's Toys
or off department, or a Lego or Squishables or JC
Penny's Toy department, you can do that in the warmth
of the mall and drop it off in the box
(02:33):
in the Hartford health Care Lounge in the North Strom Wing.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Oh nice, And if you're in another part of the mall,
you can just come out and hand it to us.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yes, we would love to see you, So come out
and join the fun because outside at the toy drive
it is so much fun. We get a lot of
companies will do their company wide toy drive and then
they will roll up and open their trunk and it
will be stuff with toys, and it's a great drop
off location. We are officially the last drop off location
December thirteenth that the US Marine Corps is Plainville Division
(03:04):
is going to be accepting toys to meet all their
goals and get them back into the hands of people
that have put in requests for them and they have
over sixty thousand toy goal this year, so we're kind
of were that last push to help them meet that goal.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
And do we know the ages of the children or
what kind of toys they're looking for.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Any new and unwrapped toy is very much appreciated. What
they tend to see year over year is that zero
to two and eight to twelve toy range is something
that they always struggle with. I think a lot of
people are excited to buy those three to seven toys,
but we really really need help in those areas of
(03:45):
zero to two and eight to twelve. And again it's
a new unwrapped toy.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
And do we know where the toys will go?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So the toys go back to the community, social workers
organizations and nonprofits. They put in requests with Toys for
Tots in the US Marine Corps Division in Plainville for
fulfilling wishes within their organizations statewide. So this is part
of that program and they are fulfilling all the wishes
(04:12):
of the local agencies wonderful.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So besides the Toys for Tots drive happening on December thirteenth,
we have some more great events happening at the mall.
I want to start with Santa's Flight Academy.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Santa's Flight Academy is our marquee holiday Santa experience right
in our center court. It is a twenty two foot
tall slay and it is all fully interactive for kids
to go in touch all the buttons and pull the
levers and help Santa get his sleigh ready for the
(04:44):
big day, and of course the visit with Santa to
tell them his their wishes. Every child that comes through
gets a very small gift that from Santa himself, and
it's a free experience. If you'd like to have your
photo taken with Santa, is an option to do that
as well. They make great Christmas cards, and I think
it's important for families to note that as we get
(05:07):
closer to the holiday season and it gets Santy gets
very busy with appointments, that you can make an appointment
time just for you by going to shop West Farms
dot com and reserve a convenient time for you and
your family.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
That is fantastic. It is so beautiful inside.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
There, yes, and the snow inside of the globe is
a lot of Famili's favorite and mine too. It's foe
falling snow and it's a magical dance party inside the
big sleigh. So that's a lot of fun. And so
after you see Santa and you go through the whole
interactive experience, that's kind of the big ending where everybody
(05:46):
celebrates for helping Santa get his sleigh ready for Christmas.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And what is Sensory Santa.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Sensory Santa is a special sensory friendly Santa experience also
in our Center Corps as Santa Splight Academy. It will
be on Sunday, number seventh, from nine to ten. Thirty
individuals with all spectrums of special needs and their families
are invited to attend a private photo session where a
little extra care is taken to support not only sensory issues,
(06:13):
but also physical and other developmental needs so that they
can have a magical holiday experience too. And the event
is held in partnership with Autism Speak. Again, there's no
admission charge to come and see Santa. However, there are
photo packages to capture the holiday memory that are available
should you want to go ahead and purchase one of
those in events or on site. This is a very
(06:35):
popular event, so we do encourage families to go online
and go ahead and make that appointment for December seventh,
between nine and ten thirty.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for doing all
these events for children and their families.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
As the holidays get closer to us, we will extend
our holiday hours so there is additional time to shop
for your gifts through your loved ones all the way
up through Christmas Eve at six PE, so there's still
plenty of time. There's opportunity to use the West Farms
app where you can map your route, you can see
what's for sale before you shop, and really be smart
(07:10):
shopper this holiday season. We'd like to try to make
it as easy as possible to get in and get
out with your gifts and leave the stress up to
Santa and you enjoy the holiday shopping season wonderful.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I'm speaking with Amanda Sir Rica, spokesperson for the West
Farms Mall again. That toye for toch drive with the
US Marines is on December thirteenth, from nine till noon
over at California Pizza Kitchen. You can drop off a
new and unwrapped toy and bless a child's life again.
For all of these events and the hours just go
(07:42):
to Shopwestfarms dot com. Thank you so much for being
here today, Amanda, thank
Speaker 2 (07:47):
You for having me, and happy holidays to you
Good morning, thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Allison de Merz. My guest today is Amanda Sirikashi is
a spokesperson for the West Farms Mall.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, good morning, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You bet you have so many great events coming up
at the mall, one that I'm going to be at,
So why don't we start out with that. On December thirteenth,
it's the US Marines Toys for Tot's Toy Drive.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well, we love the Toy Drive each year, and this
year is extra special with NBC and Telemundo Connecticut connecting
you to Joy Toy Drive in partnership with Harford Healthcare
and Comcast. So we will have the NBC team there
that you can come out and meet. I hear that
you may be there, and I also know that the
(00:48):
US Marine Corps will be there and you'll all be
collecting toys to benefit Hartford and Litchfield County.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And last year I was there and to see the
Marines on this big truck and people driving up and
dropping off the toys with their children, and I believe
the Marines had a toy for each child, just like
a little one. It was so beautiful. It was just
amazing to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Oh I'm so glad you loved it, and we look
forward to doing that again. And the Toy Drive is
part of West Farms Community First initiative where we like
to give back to the community that supports us throughout
the entire year. There's some surprises in store each year
and we're looking forward to doing those again this year.
Harvard Healthcare has been a partner of the Toy Drive
(01:33):
for three years. They've surprised us with an ambulance full
of toys. Last year we had lifestar Land with toys
in it. We're looking forward to hopefully having great weather
to do that again. So there's a lot to see.
We have Santa Claus arrives on a fire truck around
our ring road around the mall and officially cuts the
red ribbon with the US Marines to open the truck,
(01:57):
which is twenty six feet long and fill it up.
So we really encourage a community to come out to
help us do that.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
It is so wonderful. So it's from nine till noon
on December thirteenth. Which side of the mall should they
go on?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It will be the backside of the mall by California
Pizza Kitchen. That's where we'll be located. But we have
a second drop off location inside of the mall. So
if you're there shopping and you have your errands to
run and you want to stop by the Macy's Toys
or off department, or a Lego or Squishables or JC
Penny's Toy department, you can do that in the warmth
of the mall and drop it off in the box
(02:33):
in the Hartford health Care Lounge in the North Strom Wing.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Oh nice, And if you're in another part of the mall,
you can just come out and hand it to us.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yes, we would love to see you, So come out
and join the fun because outside at the toy drive
it is so much fun. We get a lot of
companies will do their company wide toy drive and then
they will roll up and open their trunk and it
will be stuff with toys, and it's a great drop
off location. We are officially the last drop off location
December thirteenth that the US Marine Corps is Plainville Division
(03:04):
is going to be accepting toys to meet all their
goals and get them back into the hands of people
that have put in requests for them and they have
over sixty thousand toy goal this year, so we're kind
of were that last push to help them meet that goal.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
And do we know the ages of the children or
what kind of toys they're looking for.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Any new and unwrapped toy is very much appreciated. What
they tend to see year over year is that zero
to two and eight to twelve toy range is something
that they always struggle with. I think a lot of
people are excited to buy those three to seven toys,
but we really really need help in those areas of
(03:45):
zero to two and eight to twelve. And again it's
a new unwrapped toy.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
And do we know where the toys will go?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So the toys go back to the community, social workers
organizations and nonprofits. They put in requests with Toys for
Tots in the US Marine Corps Division in Plainville for
fulfilling wishes within their organizations statewide. So this is part
of that program and they are fulfilling all the wishes
(04:12):
of the local agencies wonderful.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So besides the Toys for Tots drive happening on December thirteenth,
we have some more great events happening at the mall.
I want to start with Santa's Flight Academy.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Santa's Flight Academy is our marquee holiday Santa experience right
in our center court. It is a twenty two foot
tall slay and it is all fully interactive for kids
to go in touch all the buttons and pull the
levers and help Santa get his sleigh ready for the
(04:44):
big day, and of course the visit with Santa to
tell them his their wishes. Every child that comes through
gets a very small gift that from Santa himself, and
it's a free experience. If you'd like to have your
photo taken with Santa, is an option to do that
as well. They make great Christmas cards, and I think
it's important for families to note that as we get
(05:07):
closer to the holiday season and it gets Santy gets
very busy with appointments, that you can make an appointment
time just for you by going to shop West Farms
dot com and reserve a convenient time for you and
your family.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
That is fantastic. It is so beautiful inside.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
There, yes, and the snow inside of the globe is
a lot of Famili's favorite and mine too. It's foe
falling snow and it's a magical dance party inside the
big sleigh. So that's a lot of fun. And so
after you see Santa and you go through the whole
interactive experience, that's kind of the big ending where everybody
(05:46):
celebrates for helping Santa get his sleigh ready for Christmas.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And what is Sensory Santa.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Sensory Santa is a special sensory friendly Santa experience also
in our Center Corps as Santa Splight Academy. It will
be on Sunday, number seventh, from nine to ten. Thirty
individuals with all spectrums of special needs and their families
are invited to attend a private photo session where a
little extra care is taken to support not only sensory issues,
(06:13):
but also physical and other developmental needs so that they
can have a magical holiday experience too. And the event
is held in partnership with Autism Speak. Again, there's no
admission charge to come and see Santa. However, there are
photo packages to capture the holiday memory that are available
should you want to go ahead and purchase one of
those in events or on site. This is a very
(06:35):
popular event, so we do encourage families to go online
and go ahead and make that appointment for December seventh,
between nine and ten thirty.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for doing all
these events for children and their families.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
As the holidays get closer to us, we will extend
our holiday hours so there is additional time to shop
for your gifts through your loved ones all the way
up through Christmas Eve at six PE, so there's still
plenty of time. There's opportunity to use the West Farms
app where you can map your route, you can see
what's for sale before you shop, and really be smart
(07:10):
shopper this holiday season. We'd like to try to make
it as easy as possible to get in and get
out with your gifts and leave the stress up to
Santa and you enjoy the holiday shopping season wonderful.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I'm speaking with Amanda Sir Rica, spokesperson for the West
Farms Mall again. That toye for toch drive with the
US Marines is on December thirteenth, from nine till noon
over at California Pizza Kitchen. You can drop off a
new and unwrapped toy and bless a child's life again.
For all of these events and the hours just go
(07:42):
to Shopwestfarms dot com. Thank you so much for being
here today, Amanda, thank
Speaker 2 (07:47):
You for having me, and happy holidays to you
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