9th annual ‘Cram the Cruiser’ toy drive now accepting donations; volunteer for the ‘Parade of Toys’
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 3, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Police Department’s (UKPD) ninth annual “Cram the Cruiser” toy drive is now accepting donations for patients of Golisano Children’s at UK.
How to donate
From now until Dec. 10, UKPD will accept new, unwrapped toys for donation. These can be dropped off at UKPD’s headquarters, located at 152 Transcript Ave.
UKPD will also be collecting donations in partnership with UK Athletics at the Tennessee Tech vs. UK football game on Nov. 15. Donations will be collected at Gate 4.
Golisano Children’s at UK has published a list of acceptable items by age, including toys and books for children of all ages, that can be viewed and purchased directly at this link. Individuals can make monetary donations directly at this link.
“‘Cram the Cruiser’ is one of my favorite traditions because it shows what makes the UK community so special — our willingness to come together and lift others up,” said UK Police Chief Joe Monroe. “Every toy collected brings joy to a child and reminds us that our service can extend beyond campus safety. I’m proud of our students, staff and community partners who make this effort a success year after year.”
Volunteer for the ‘Parade of Toys’
Each year, Monroe trades in his police uniform for his Santa Claus suit and grows a full white beard to hand-deliver the toys to the kids at Golisano Children’s at UK. Along with the toy drive, UKPD hopes to bring Christmas cheer to the entire campus by hosting the second annual Christmas parade, the Parade of Toys.
The Parade of Toys will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, at UKPD headquarters and will travel through campus to deliver all the collected donations to Golisano Children’s at UK. UKPD invites campus partners to participate in a parade through campus to deliver toys to Golisano Children’s at UK. Anyone interested in volunteering can register here.
Important community partners in the toy drive include the family of Jonathan Ard and 3M Co. of Cynthiana, Kentucky. Ard, a former Green Beret in the U.S. Army who served two tours of duty in Iraq before returning to Kentucky to work as an engineer at 3M, died of leukemia in 2016. His family and 3M employees participate in the toy drive in his honor and join UK Police to deliver the items to Golisano Children’s at UK.
For more information, contact Mandi Banahan at 859-218-2338 or mandi.banahan@uky.edu.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.