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IOWA CITY — When Annie Ventullo was a social worker several years ago, serving families around Christmas involved a little extra labor of love.

The children she worked with would have a request for Santa, like any other child. Parents, meanwhile, worried about how to make even part of it come true.

So she started a fundraiser with friends in her network to help make some of their wishes come true. Later, Velvet Lotus Tattoo shop in Iowa City offered to pitch in with “flash sales,” giving clients a streamlined array of designs to get inked for a good cause.

Now, nine years later, Tats for Tots is channeling its success into a bigger project: the Iowa City Toy Redistribution Project.

“One of

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