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June 12, 2004
Six shopping months until Christmas . . .
. . . and it's not too early to be thinking about Toys for Tots. This program that collects new, unwrapped toys during the fall and winter months to distribute as Christmas gifts to needy children around the communities in which the campaign is conducted. Last year, over 5.7 million children benefitted. According to the Toys for Tots Web site "The 2003 U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign was the most successful campaign in the 56-year history of Toys for Tots. Local campaigns were conducted in 456 communities covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This was 42 more local campaigns than the previous record."
Last year in the 29 Palms region, Toys For Tots collected more than 29,000 toys to distribute to 13,000 children throughout the high- and low-desert communities.
It's not too early to think about this Christmas - I'm buying one or two new gifts each month for the Toys for Tots campaigns in my area. With all the deployed and transferring Marines, there will be an increased need this year for help. "We anticipated a multitude of fundraising challenges based on our experiences during 2002," said retired Lt. Gen. Matthew T. Cooper, president and CEO, Toys for Tots, in a letter to the volunteers. "Concurrently, we were uncertain about the availability of Marine Reservists to conduct the annual campaign due to impending mobilization and deployment to the Middle East for combat operations. This apprehension gave us a special sense of urgency about the 2003 campaign."
2003 was a success but 2004 will also be a challenge.Military and civilian volunteers will be needed for collecting and sorting toys, and fundraisers. Last year, private businesses in our area put out collection barrels for toys that were then delivered to reserve Marine units. I buy a couple new toys each month for Toys for Tots - it's a good thing and deserves support.
Posted by Deb at June 12, 2004 04:36 PM
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Comments
Interesting.
Posted by: Sarah B Sterling at November 6, 2004 02:16 AM