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Toys for Tots 2008
Toys for Tots News Release, October 2008:
The 2008 Toys for Tots collection season will commence on October 1st. Each year there are families in Lancaster County who are in need of assistance to provide Christmas toys to their children. They receive this from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. The program was begun in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks, USMC Reserves and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. The idea came from Bill’s wife, Diane. In the fall of 1947, Diane handcrafted a Raggedy Ann doll and asked Bill to deliver the doll to an organization, which would give it to a needy child at Christmas. When Bill determined that no agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one. He did.
The 1947 pilot project was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expanded it into a nationwide campaign. That year, Marine Corps Reserve units across that nation conducted Toys for Tots campaigns in each community in which a Marine Reserve Center was located. Marines have conducted successful nationwide campaigns at Christmas each year since1948. The initial objective that remains the hallmark of the program today is to “bring the joy of Christmas to America’s children who are in need”.
In 2007, your Toys for Tots Program helped 4,723 local children of needy families. Each child received three (3) new toys, stocking stuffers, numerous stiffed animals and other items appropriate to their age. This could not have been accomplished without the help of Lancaster County Community Action Program personnel, dozens of volunteers as well as the generosity of the wonderful residents of Lancaster County.
2008 will be a banner year. The Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster has partnered with the Lancaster County Detachment of the Marine Corps League. The Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster brings 36 years of toy collection and distribution experience to the team. Spearheading the first county wide toy distribution program in Lancaster County in 1972, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lancaster’s program has grown to serve 2,000 families throughout both Lancaster City and Lancaster County. Combining the two programs will streamline both organization’s efforts to create one program that has the capacity to provide toys for all the children in need this holiday season.
The Boys & Girls Club and the Marine Corps will kick off their efforts with the Lancaster City Fire Department on October 2nd at the station 3 department on East King Street. Please plan to join us as we celebrate the camaraderie and dual mission of these organizations to bring joy to local children this holiday season.
