Toys for Tots plans to make its temporary home into a permanent one.

The volunteer program, which was struggling to find a permanent location in September, will stay in the Clearview Mall, 101 Clearview Mall Circle, beside Rite Aid, the same place it was housed last year.

Except now when the Christmas season ends, Toys for Tots will stay, using the space to store toys until next year.

“There's a lot of toys we have to keep on moving,” said Dennis Johnston, coordinator of the Butler County Toys For Tots program.

The Bantam Marine Detachment 743, which runs the local program, would set up in the mall for the holidays, but rent a trailer for storage throughout the year. And while the group has tried renting several vacant buildings, Ben Cypher of the detachment said none of the efforts were successful.

“We've just kind of reached the point where, if we have to go through this every year we're just going to hang it up,” Cypher said in September.

But after hearing of the group's struggle for a more permanent location, John Brautigam, Clearview Mall manager, reached out, offering Toys for Tots a free location until Jan. 1, when the detachment will begin renting the 9,000-square-foot space.

Yet, even with this permanent location, Johnston says the organization would pick up and move once again if it could find its own building. He worries that the mall could find a business that offers to pay more for the spot.

The program serves about 3,000 Butler County children, newborn to age 12, who aren't already enrolled in another holiday toy program.

To register, call 724-841-0431 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Nov. 30, except on Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. Pick up is Dec. 16. Adults should bring photo ID and their children's birth certificates and appear at their assigned time.