Mariah Carey at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. (Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — When Mariah Carey plays the Boch Center Wang Theatre on Friday, she wants her fans to help spread a little Christmas cheer.
In a release from Live Nation, Carey asked fans attending the Boston show to bring unwrapped toys with them to be donated to Toys for Tots.
In addition, the "All I Want For Christmas Is You" singer is donating $1 from each ticket to the 72-year-old charity. Tickets are still available for the show at 8 p.m. Friday.
Carey aims to help out with a toy shortage that has hit Toys for Tots Boston this year. Usually, by this close to Christmas, the Marine Corps Toys for Tots warehouse is filled with toys—but this year, they're struggling.
Over the weekend, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh shared a photo of the nearly-empty toy warehouse.
"Help us fill their warehouse ASAP so that all the children in Boston can have a gift to open," he tweeted.
Most of the charity's toy requests are still unfilled, and Staff Sgt. Jonathan Chan told WBZ NewsRadio the situation is urgent.
"The late Thanksgiving this year, that definitely had a negative impact on us," he said. "We partner with about 400 organizations. We've only distributed toys to about 100 of those organizations. Trying to get them scheduled in a compressed time frame is very challenging."
Last year, Toys for Tots distributed more than 183,000 toys to more than 71,000 Boston-area children.
"This year, we're on track to do 150,000 toys, and we've only done about 50,000 of that so far," Staff Sgt. Chan said. "We still have quite a ways to go, and there's only a couple of weeks left."
Anyone can drop off toys any time at 21 Drydock Avenue in Boston, or at any State Police barracks or fire station.
WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports
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