BARRIE, ONT. -- With the holidays just months away, local charities are ramping up for what will be a very different season.

"We've been through so much with the pandemic that children still need to have joy in their lives," said Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions Melanie McLearon.

Donations for this year's toy drive will be collected at central locations across the region, then quarantined for one week before parents can pick them up curbside.

As the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) runs out, lots of people will rely on Employment Insurance (EI), making the need even greater this year.

"We've helped 1,600 people so far since the beginning of the pandemic, and that's likely people that haven't accessed our services before for basic need," McLearon said.

Capt. Stephanie Watkins said the Salvation Army has hopes the bells will still ring this Christmas season.

"This campaign is going to be a smaller presence than in previous campaigns, but the bottom line is that we still need to raise the same amount of funds," Watkins said they hope to raise $600,000.

The Georgian Mall in Barrie has given the campaign the green light, but Watkins said the concern is with volunteers, who are mainly seniors.

"They're in that population that are that are at high risk of being infected by COVID, so they are tending to stay home more and so they're not going to be volunteering at our kettles in the community."

Meanwhile, more than 200 local families will be fed through an online campaign.

The Barrie Food Bank kicks off its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive on September 24.

But this year, they are asking for monetary donations instead of food.

"In order to sort that food, we need to bring in groups of 40 or 50 volunteers at a time to stand shoulder to shoulder to sort through the food, and its just not a safe time to do that," said Peter Sundborg, Barrie Food Bank Executive Director.

The food bank hopes to raise about $150,000 during the October drive.

Sundborg said he expects the same type of campaign at Christmas time as well.