At least 37 families in the Fern Ridge School District will receive a little cheer this holiday season thanks to the Toys for Tots program.
The school district accepted applications through Tuesday. The original deadline was later, but it was moved because of a lack of community donations. District coordinator Becky Dubé said applications will reopen if more donations are received.
All 37 of the families who submitted applications will receive donations. The district has 145 eligible families, according to Dubé.
Distribution of the donations will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 18 at Fern
Ridge Middle School. It will be a drive-through event. Picture ID is required to pick up gifts.
It is not too late to donate. Contact Dubé at 541-935-2253 ext. 1210 or rdube@fernridge.k12.or.us for more information.
How does Toys for Tots work?
Local toy collection campaigns begin around October and last until mid- to late December. Members of the community drop new, unwrapped toys into collection boxes in local businesses. Coordinators pick up the toys and store them in central warehouses, where the toys are then sorted by age and gender.
At Christmas, coordinators, with the assistance of local social welfare agencies, church groups and other local community agencies, distribute the toys to the less fortunate children of the community.
Over the years, Marines have established close working relationships with social welfare agencies, churches and other local community agencies that are well qualified to identify the needy children in the community and play an important role in the distribution of the toys.
What kind of action can I take to support it?
A couple things you can do to support the toys foundation are things such as:
- Donating a toy to your community’s Toys for Tots Campaign
- Donating your time to assist the community’s Toys for Tots Campaign
- Donating service support to your community’s Toys for Tots Campaign
- Allow Marines to place toy collection boxes at your company/business/establishment
- Allow Marines to use empty warehouses to store and sort the toys they receive
- Allow Marines to use vehicles to collect toys throughout your local community
- Make a tax deductible donation to Toys for Tots
- Mailing donations to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
- Donating online
- Be a role model for children in your community(i.e passive mentor)
- Be a model citizen and a model adult
- Be a person of integrity, honesty and the heights moral characters
- Demonstrate immaculate personal appearance
- Express positive attitude and action
- Exemplify respect and concern for other and their property
- Display a caring attitude towards other
- Help others at every possible opportunity given
Anything you do can help, as long as it is done with heart and compassion for others. In these holidays, share the joy, bring warmth to people’s hearts and show the true sparkle of Christmas. Even a couple of kind words can make someone’s Christmas Day.
Why was Toys for Tots established?
In 1947, Toys for Tots began as an idea of Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks. The real originator was his wife, Diane, who inspired the idea.
She had a few handcrafted dolls and asked her husband to deliver them to a child supporting agency that may be in need.
When Hendricks returned back to his wife and informed her he could not find such an organization that did as she wished, she instructed him to “start one!”
Major Hendricks and the Marines in his reserve unit in Los Angeles then collected and distributed around 5,000 toys in 1947. Seeing such community engagement in 1947, the Commandant directed all Marine Reserve Sites to implement the Toys For Tots campaign, transforming it into a national community action program in 1948.
Hendricks’s civilian job was director of public relations at Warner Brother Studios. He was friends with many celebrities whom he asked for support in the newly created Marine Toys for Tots Program. As a personal friend and as a favor for Hendricks, Walt Disney designed the first Toys for Tots poster, which included a miniature three-car train that was subsequently adopted as the Toys for Tots logo and has stayed to this day.
The foundation raises funds, purchases toys, provides promotional and support materials, manages all funds raised and donated, solicits corporate support, educates the public, and handles day-to-day operations.
Presently, the Marine Toys for Tots Program distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million less fortunate children annually, giving them all the joy and cheer of a Christmas morning.
