In the spirit of the holiday season, the 2013 Trail of Lights is introducing Charity Night on Dec. 19 to provide the Austin community with various ways to support Austin-area charities and help preserve the Trail of Lights. Bring a toy with you to the Trail on 12/19 and get early access starting at 6:15pm. To encourage the public’s participation and to make donations as easy as possible, this year’s Trail of Lights is hosting three charitable campaigns including:

Toys for Tots: Covert Auto Group will be hosting a toy drive at the Trail of Lights to benefit Toys for Tots. Trail attendees can bring a new, unwrapped toy to place in a Covert GMC tuck at that Trail of Lights. Covert Auto Group has a goal of collecting 1,000 toys during the 15-night event. Toys will accepted through Dec. 19 only.

Police Activities League (PAL): A raffle at the Trail of Lights will benefit the PAL, which is a program of the Austin Police Department that supports at-risk youths. Raffle proceeds will also benefit the Trail of Lights Foundation. Prizes include a $5,000 HomeAway vacation package, a $2,500 Samsung electronics package, $2,000 worth of Southwest Airline tickets, and $1,500 H-E-B gift card and a $1,000 H-E-B gift card. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase through Dec. 22, and the raffle drawing will take place on 12/24 at the PAL headquarters. 

Season for Caring: Cash donations to the Austin American-Statesman’s (AAS) Season for Caring donation campaign will be accepted atas cash boxes throughout the Trail of Lights. Proceeds to these cash boxes will benefit the AAS Season for Caring and the Trail of Lights Foundation (cash boxes will be present at the Trail through Dec. 22).