thedrifter
12-05-08, 08:24 AM
Marines say requests up for toys this year
December 4, 2008 - 8:55 PM
Sue Book
Sun Journal
The Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots Program has more requests for Christmas toys and fewer toys in the drop boxes spread over an eight-county area including Craven, Pamlico and Jones.
Marine area coordinator 1st Sgt. Bobby Barnett recently told MCAS Cherry Point Marines that there was concern about whether all the stockings of all qualified needy applicants will be filled.
Barnett, a Marine for more than 20 years and a father of three teenagers, was more confident on Thursday. But he said that "there is greater need and less participation. A lot of the people who donated last year of finding themselves in need this year and it is difficult for us to keep up."
Barnett, who is stationed at Camp Lejeune, said he has assisted in the Toys for Tots program at previous commands but this is the first year he has headed a regional program and finds it "very rewarding."
There are about 20 active duty Marines assisting "nonstop with Toys for Tots," Barnett said, and about 170 Reserve Marines who live and work actively in the community.
"It is their program," he said. "They are doing the majority of this work."
The Toys for Tots Program dates back to 1947, when a group of U.S. Marine Reservists collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve.
The campaign was a great success and the U.S. Marine Corps titled it the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program and expanded the next year. Over the 61 years, Toys for Tots has delivered 370 million toys to more than 170 million needy children. Marines distributed gifts to 7.5 million children in more than 600 communities last Christmas.
About 45,000 toys were distributed to more than 9,000 children in the region that includes Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties, Barnett said. Four additional counties have been added to the region this year and "the number of children needing help this year is closer to 12,000."
He said donations are logged by drop-off location and toys donated in an area are delivered to children in that area by Dec. 22.
The last day for the majority of the pickups is the Friday before Christmas, Dec. 19, but collections are made regularly from the boxes, located at most major toy outlets as well as many small businesses, and the toys are sorted according to the age and sex of the children who will receive them. Donations are accepted through the first week in January and money to buy toys is also accepted.
""We are looking for new, unwrapped toys," Barnett said. "We don't set a specific value. Not everybody can give at the same level so we take pretty much everything we can get, whether dollar store gifts for stocking stuffers or things as expensive as new bicycles, MP3 players, whatever people are capable of giving."
Barnett said the program does ask that people avoid toy weapons because "we want the kids to have something to help sponsor their growth as a noteworthy individual. We want them to remember and reflect on something done for them at a time they were in need and return the favor when they become a strong, stable person in the community."
Besides drop boxes at major toy vendors, boxes in this area include those at Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune, the Navy Federal Credit Union and many banks, Fleet Readiness Center East, General Dynamics, Baldree's Tire in Havelock, Askin General Store, and most elementary schools in the area.
Information on Toys for Tots Program is available on Web site www.toysfortots.org/.
Ellie
December 4, 2008 - 8:55 PM
Sue Book
Sun Journal
The Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots Program has more requests for Christmas toys and fewer toys in the drop boxes spread over an eight-county area including Craven, Pamlico and Jones.
Marine area coordinator 1st Sgt. Bobby Barnett recently told MCAS Cherry Point Marines that there was concern about whether all the stockings of all qualified needy applicants will be filled.
Barnett, a Marine for more than 20 years and a father of three teenagers, was more confident on Thursday. But he said that "there is greater need and less participation. A lot of the people who donated last year of finding themselves in need this year and it is difficult for us to keep up."
Barnett, who is stationed at Camp Lejeune, said he has assisted in the Toys for Tots program at previous commands but this is the first year he has headed a regional program and finds it "very rewarding."
There are about 20 active duty Marines assisting "nonstop with Toys for Tots," Barnett said, and about 170 Reserve Marines who live and work actively in the community.
"It is their program," he said. "They are doing the majority of this work."
The Toys for Tots Program dates back to 1947, when a group of U.S. Marine Reservists collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve.
The campaign was a great success and the U.S. Marine Corps titled it the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program and expanded the next year. Over the 61 years, Toys for Tots has delivered 370 million toys to more than 170 million needy children. Marines distributed gifts to 7.5 million children in more than 600 communities last Christmas.
About 45,000 toys were distributed to more than 9,000 children in the region that includes Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties, Barnett said. Four additional counties have been added to the region this year and "the number of children needing help this year is closer to 12,000."
He said donations are logged by drop-off location and toys donated in an area are delivered to children in that area by Dec. 22.
The last day for the majority of the pickups is the Friday before Christmas, Dec. 19, but collections are made regularly from the boxes, located at most major toy outlets as well as many small businesses, and the toys are sorted according to the age and sex of the children who will receive them. Donations are accepted through the first week in January and money to buy toys is also accepted.
""We are looking for new, unwrapped toys," Barnett said. "We don't set a specific value. Not everybody can give at the same level so we take pretty much everything we can get, whether dollar store gifts for stocking stuffers or things as expensive as new bicycles, MP3 players, whatever people are capable of giving."
Barnett said the program does ask that people avoid toy weapons because "we want the kids to have something to help sponsor their growth as a noteworthy individual. We want them to remember and reflect on something done for them at a time they were in need and return the favor when they become a strong, stable person in the community."
Besides drop boxes at major toy vendors, boxes in this area include those at Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune, the Navy Federal Credit Union and many banks, Fleet Readiness Center East, General Dynamics, Baldree's Tire in Havelock, Askin General Store, and most elementary schools in the area.
Information on Toys for Tots Program is available on Web site www.toysfortots.org/.
Ellie