UAB IT has run the UAB Toy Drive for at least 14 of its 30 years, and this year Santa debuted a new tool to help measure success: an app designed to track donations by department.

In previous years, Santa’s elves and IT employees have been working so quickly they haven’t had a chance to count donations. This year, they counted 1,583 total toys — including 313 stuffed animals donated in the Teddy Bear Toss at the UAB men’s basketball game on Dec. 1. Toys are given to the U.S. Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign each year.

“This app is a great way to measure UAB’s contribution to Toys for Tots,” said Systems Analyst Bryan Peters, who built the app this year. “We’re looking forward to using it every year, and maybe even spurring some friendly competition among departments.”

Peters works on the SharePoint team, part of the Application Consulting Services team. The SharePoint team has also built a number of apps in recent months, including the Faculty Senate and Staff Council nomination apps; international travel app; faculty development grant proposal application; and a program development app, which is used for submitting new curricula for the undergraduate, graduate and core curriculum committees.

If you’re interested in a custom app — for Santa or otherwise — contact the ACS team.