Toys for Tots still seeking donations

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- With military precision, uniformed Marines sort through piles of Barbie dolls, stuffed animals and board games in a small warehouse at the Norfolk Naval Station.

They put the donated toys into boxes according to age and gender, then bag the items for delivery.

Similar scenes are taking place around the country this week as the U.S.Marine Corps Reserves' Toys for Tots program works to make sure that millions of needy children will get toys for the holidays.

The program is for infants through 14-year-olds. As Christmas looms, Toys for Tots especially needs donations of items for older children, 10 to 14, such as books, radios or watches. The program runs out of toys for that age group first, in part because it doesn't get as many donations for those kids.

"When people think of Toys for Tots, they think of tots,'' said retired Col. Al Tase Jr. of Virginia Beach, who is national liaison between the Marine Corps League and the Toys for Tots Foundation, the fund-raising arm of the toy program.

Toys for Tots uses cash donations to buy toys to supplement those collected so children won't go away empty-handed.

"The word 'no' doesn't really exist around here,'' said Maj. Joe Richards, an active-duty Marine who is the Toys for Tots coordinator in Hampton Roads.

In late November, Toys for Tots began accepting donations of money online to help buy more toys.

"The neat thing is, without really any advertising to speak of, it's just going really well. We've raised $24,000 in 14 days,'' said retired Maj. Bill Grein, vice president for marketing and development for the Toys for Tots Foundation, based at the Marine base at Quantico.

The Toys for Tots program began in 1947. Last year alone, Marines collected and distributed 11.2 million toys to 4.8 million children.

Local campaigns are conducted in slightly more than 300 communities nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Toys collected locally are distributed locally, and most cash donations are used locally as well.

The goal is to give at least two toys to each child, Tase said. Children can even request the kinds of toys they would like.

"They don't always get what they want, but we try,'' Richards said.

"We had a kid who wanted a pair of Rollerblades. It broke my heart,'' Richards said, because none of the pricey inline skates had been donated.

The local campaigns begin in October and last until Dec. 22.

People drop off new, unwrapped toys in collection boxes at businesses. Coordinators pick up the toys and store them in a central warehouse, where the toys are sorted.

Marines, with the help of local social-welfare agencies and church groups, then distribute the toys to the neediest children in the community.

Corporate sponsors also donate to the program, helping with toys and overhead expenses.

Toys are distributed as close as possible to Christmas, but exceptions sometimes are made. The Marines delivered toys to Franklin and Southampton County residents flooded out of their homes during Hurricane Floyd in September.

"They needed a Christmas then,'' Tase said. "They couldn't wait.''

The Toys for Tots Web site is http://www.toysfortots.org./

• Go to Nationline
• Go to News front page