thedrifter
12-22-06, 07:26 AM
Shoppers confused by Toys for Tots helpers
By Angela Carella
Assistant City Editor
December 22, 2006
An agreement between the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program and a marketing company is creating confusion among some holiday shoppers in Stamford and Greenwich, and among some of the former Marines who collect and distribute the toys to needy children.
The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in Quantico, Va., signed an agreement with a company called Quantum, which, through dozens of subsidiaries nationwide, sells toys in shopping centers and other areas where there are many holiday shoppers, said Bill Grein, vice president of marketing and development for the foundation.
According to the agreement, shoppers buy a toy, which the Quantum subsidiary gives to the nearest Toys for Tots chapter, and Quantum donates 10 percent of the sale price to the foundation, Grein said, adding he chose the toys Quantum would sell.
"They are things I would not be embarrassed for our Marines to hand out," he said.
Quantum is a national corporate sponsor of Toys for Tots, so its subsidiaries may use Marine Corps posters when selling the toys but cannot represent themselves as members of Toys for Tots, Grein said. Donors also may bring toys to such sites, and the Quantum subsidiary will deliver it to a Toys for Tots distribution center.
But George Ducanic, who runs the Stamford Toys for Tots, said some shoppers are questioning the prices of the toys and whether all of them make it to a Marine Corps distribution site. Former Marines are concerned that some of the sellers are misrepresenting themselves as members of the Corps, Ducanic said.
"I've got a ton of complaints about this from Stamford and Greenwich since before Thanksgiving," Ducanic said. "A lot of old-time Marines are teed off. The complaints are with the people selling the toys and the price."
Staff Sgt. Christopher Waller, the Toys for Tots coordinator for towns from Greenwich to New Haven, said he's hearing complaints, too, mostly from Stamford and Bridgeport.
"I think the biggest thing I'm hearing is that people are seeing only two or three toys on display, like samples. There's no box full of toys," Waller said. "They're asking, 'If I buy one, how do I know one of these will go where it's supposed to go? Are they taking a count of how many toys they sell?' There's a lack of confidence."
Quantum subsidiaries are selling toys throughout the state, Waller said, and last year he received toys from them.
"I think they mean well, but maybe their employees are executing it in a way the consumer does not see fit," he said.
In Greenwich yesterday, Emaly Pena sat in front of the CVS Pharmacy on Greenwich Avenue next to a 3-foot cardboard box full of toys. "Marine Corps Reserve" was printed on the box, and Pena said she was selling toys to benefit the Toys for Tots Foundation.
Pena said she is a paid intern for Child Safety Innovation Inc. of Elmsford, N.Y., a Quantum subsidiary, and that she would accept any unwrapped toy for the program. She also was selling items such as a $35 Scooby Doo Action Pack. Donors could buy the item and place it in the box, which would be picked up by the Marines, Pena said.
The Scooby Doo Action Pack, which contains primarily crayons, a coloring book and activity book inside a plastic carrying case, normally retails for $40, Pena said. But she was selling the action pack for less and throwing in as an added donation a small electronic game player, which was marketed as having "10 fun games" that can be played at 10 speeds and has a built-in calculator and clock. Pena said the player retails for $15.
"This benefits a bunch of kids," she said. "You're paying $35, and you get the player."
However, Overstock.com, another Toys for Tots national corporate sponsor, yesterday advertised the Scooby Doo Action Pack on its Web site for $12.99, down from the list price of $19.99, with free shipping to the Toys for Tots Marine Corps Depot.
Pena said sometimes the prices of the items change depending on the day, and workers are told to sell them for less. But she didn't know when and under what conditions that is done.
"I do what they tell me to," she said.
Larry Zeiss, president of Child Safety Innovation, said so far his company has donated 30,000 to 35,000 toys to Connecticut towns from Greenwich to Fairfield and a few towns in Westchester County, N.Y.
"There are about 60 subsidiaries of Quantum across the U.S. that donated $1.2 million to Toys for Tots so far this year, plus the toys," Zeiss said. "We employ college kids looking to get extra money in their pocket."
He confirmed that Toys for Tots gets 10 percent of each sale and Child Safety Innovation gets 90 percent.
"That goes to buying toys and paying employees," Zeiss said. "The difference is if you go to a KB toy store, 100 percent goes to KB. Here's 10 percent going to Toys for Tots."
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said yesterday that records in his office indicate that Child Safety Innovation has an expired license. It is listed at the same address as an East Hartford company, Community Events Inc., which has a valid license, Blumenthal said.
"We are checking on whether they are the same organization, whether one assumed contracts for the other, and what the relationship is between them. One may be the successor to the other," Blumenthal said.
Zeiss said he got his license about four months ago and never heard of Community Events.
"I have all my documents," he said.
Portions of the Web sites for Child Safety Innovation and Community Events have identical text, including that the companies formed in response to "a demand by nonprofit, service and entertainment clients for a more effective, personal and results-driven marketing approach . . ."
Blumenthal said his office also is checking on Quantum.
Toys for Tots' Grein said a man named John Carty in New York connected Quantum to the foundation. Carty did not return calls for comment yesterday. Grein said Quantum's president and chief executive officer is Mike Putnam in North Andover, Mass., but no telephone number for the company could be found yesterday.
Despite the confusion, Peter Havens of Norwalk, the Toys for Tots Foundation coordinator for lower Fairfield County, said he is happy with Zeiss' company. He received almost 6,000 toys from Zeiss this season, Havens said.
"They are not Marines, but they are working for the Marines. They are not trying to be shady," Havens said. "I don't have to go out soliciting for the toys, so it works well for me."
The toys are much in demand, Havens said.
"Four times in the last six years I got a call on Christmas morning that a family has no toys," he said. "You go there and you get tears in your eyes."
-- Staff writer Hoa Nguyen contributed to this story.
Ellie
By Angela Carella
Assistant City Editor
December 22, 2006
An agreement between the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program and a marketing company is creating confusion among some holiday shoppers in Stamford and Greenwich, and among some of the former Marines who collect and distribute the toys to needy children.
The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in Quantico, Va., signed an agreement with a company called Quantum, which, through dozens of subsidiaries nationwide, sells toys in shopping centers and other areas where there are many holiday shoppers, said Bill Grein, vice president of marketing and development for the foundation.
According to the agreement, shoppers buy a toy, which the Quantum subsidiary gives to the nearest Toys for Tots chapter, and Quantum donates 10 percent of the sale price to the foundation, Grein said, adding he chose the toys Quantum would sell.
"They are things I would not be embarrassed for our Marines to hand out," he said.
Quantum is a national corporate sponsor of Toys for Tots, so its subsidiaries may use Marine Corps posters when selling the toys but cannot represent themselves as members of Toys for Tots, Grein said. Donors also may bring toys to such sites, and the Quantum subsidiary will deliver it to a Toys for Tots distribution center.
But George Ducanic, who runs the Stamford Toys for Tots, said some shoppers are questioning the prices of the toys and whether all of them make it to a Marine Corps distribution site. Former Marines are concerned that some of the sellers are misrepresenting themselves as members of the Corps, Ducanic said.
"I've got a ton of complaints about this from Stamford and Greenwich since before Thanksgiving," Ducanic said. "A lot of old-time Marines are teed off. The complaints are with the people selling the toys and the price."
Staff Sgt. Christopher Waller, the Toys for Tots coordinator for towns from Greenwich to New Haven, said he's hearing complaints, too, mostly from Stamford and Bridgeport.
"I think the biggest thing I'm hearing is that people are seeing only two or three toys on display, like samples. There's no box full of toys," Waller said. "They're asking, 'If I buy one, how do I know one of these will go where it's supposed to go? Are they taking a count of how many toys they sell?' There's a lack of confidence."
Quantum subsidiaries are selling toys throughout the state, Waller said, and last year he received toys from them.
"I think they mean well, but maybe their employees are executing it in a way the consumer does not see fit," he said.
In Greenwich yesterday, Emaly Pena sat in front of the CVS Pharmacy on Greenwich Avenue next to a 3-foot cardboard box full of toys. "Marine Corps Reserve" was printed on the box, and Pena said she was selling toys to benefit the Toys for Tots Foundation.
Pena said she is a paid intern for Child Safety Innovation Inc. of Elmsford, N.Y., a Quantum subsidiary, and that she would accept any unwrapped toy for the program. She also was selling items such as a $35 Scooby Doo Action Pack. Donors could buy the item and place it in the box, which would be picked up by the Marines, Pena said.
The Scooby Doo Action Pack, which contains primarily crayons, a coloring book and activity book inside a plastic carrying case, normally retails for $40, Pena said. But she was selling the action pack for less and throwing in as an added donation a small electronic game player, which was marketed as having "10 fun games" that can be played at 10 speeds and has a built-in calculator and clock. Pena said the player retails for $15.
"This benefits a bunch of kids," she said. "You're paying $35, and you get the player."
However, Overstock.com, another Toys for Tots national corporate sponsor, yesterday advertised the Scooby Doo Action Pack on its Web site for $12.99, down from the list price of $19.99, with free shipping to the Toys for Tots Marine Corps Depot.
Pena said sometimes the prices of the items change depending on the day, and workers are told to sell them for less. But she didn't know when and under what conditions that is done.
"I do what they tell me to," she said.
Larry Zeiss, president of Child Safety Innovation, said so far his company has donated 30,000 to 35,000 toys to Connecticut towns from Greenwich to Fairfield and a few towns in Westchester County, N.Y.
"There are about 60 subsidiaries of Quantum across the U.S. that donated $1.2 million to Toys for Tots so far this year, plus the toys," Zeiss said. "We employ college kids looking to get extra money in their pocket."
He confirmed that Toys for Tots gets 10 percent of each sale and Child Safety Innovation gets 90 percent.
"That goes to buying toys and paying employees," Zeiss said. "The difference is if you go to a KB toy store, 100 percent goes to KB. Here's 10 percent going to Toys for Tots."
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said yesterday that records in his office indicate that Child Safety Innovation has an expired license. It is listed at the same address as an East Hartford company, Community Events Inc., which has a valid license, Blumenthal said.
"We are checking on whether they are the same organization, whether one assumed contracts for the other, and what the relationship is between them. One may be the successor to the other," Blumenthal said.
Zeiss said he got his license about four months ago and never heard of Community Events.
"I have all my documents," he said.
Portions of the Web sites for Child Safety Innovation and Community Events have identical text, including that the companies formed in response to "a demand by nonprofit, service and entertainment clients for a more effective, personal and results-driven marketing approach . . ."
Blumenthal said his office also is checking on Quantum.
Toys for Tots' Grein said a man named John Carty in New York connected Quantum to the foundation. Carty did not return calls for comment yesterday. Grein said Quantum's president and chief executive officer is Mike Putnam in North Andover, Mass., but no telephone number for the company could be found yesterday.
Despite the confusion, Peter Havens of Norwalk, the Toys for Tots Foundation coordinator for lower Fairfield County, said he is happy with Zeiss' company. He received almost 6,000 toys from Zeiss this season, Havens said.
"They are not Marines, but they are working for the Marines. They are not trying to be shady," Havens said. "I don't have to go out soliciting for the toys, so it works well for me."
The toys are much in demand, Havens said.
"Four times in the last six years I got a call on Christmas morning that a family has no toys," he said. "You go there and you get tears in your eyes."
-- Staff writer Hoa Nguyen contributed to this story.
Ellie