Marines face toy deficit as Christmas nears


They needs lots more toys still, and Christmas is only a few days away!



CNN) -- The Marines have been making children's Christmas dreams come true for nearly 60 years, but the corps may be seeing fewer smiles this year.


Volunteer Betty Whelan sorts donated toys in a Toys for Tots center in Boston, Massachusetts.

1 of 2 With demand up due to the poor economy and toy donations down, Toys for Tots, the Marine Corps' program that distributes Christmas toys to children in need, is facing one of its toughest years, according to Bill Grein, the Toys for Tots Foundation vice president.

Grein said the program last year distributed approximately 16.6 million toys and books, but this year he doesn't think they will be able to reach that number.

"We always run out of toys before we run out of children," he said, but this year "it's a major problem."

Grein said that the program is getting more requests than in previous years and cities like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; Fresno, California; Atlanta, Georgia, and many others are hurting for donations.

"Every kid deserves a present," said Marine Sgt. Daniel Sampson of the Toys for Tots program in Boston, Massachusetts. "Right now, we're not sending out as much as we should be."

In the Washington area, the Marines need to find toys for 82,000 children, but "we are tens of thousands of toys behind," Master Sgt Timothy Butler said.

If they can't fill the need and get every child on the list a toy for Christmas, Butler said, "It's gonna break my heart."

Last year, the Marines were able to raise $13,000 in donations from people at Union Station, a major commuter hub in downtown Washington, but this year the Marines will be "lucky to get half that," Staff Sgt. Johnny Noble said.

In Atlanta, Toys for Tots administration chief Edward Barrett said they had received 241,814 donations, well short if their goal of 800,000.

Barrett understands that the economy has a lot to do with the lack of contributions, and he estimates that donations are down by about 30 percent this year.

In San Francisco, California, Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Anthamatten said the Toys for Tots program there was also seeing a 30 percent decrease in toy and monetary donations.

In Boston, last minute donations came to the rescue. According to volunteer Kay Carpenter, the Boston Toys for Tots program used money that came in last week to buy $15,000 worth of toys, hopefully, enough to fill all of their orders.

But, nationally, Toys for Tots bins are still empty.

"We're Marines and we set goals," Edwards said, "and when we can't achieve those goals that's frustrating."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/U...index.html

Go to toysfortots.org to find drop-off points or to donate....

There's no one more important than the children at Christmas!

been there done that again this yr

Thanx

Mach said:

Same here. Several times and more.

applekisses said:

For me it's always about our children ( "our" being the worlds )

Mach said:

animals too (for me).

I've donated some toys this year.

Ive donated quite alot this yr..i had so much leftover toys from last x-mas & birthdays.

all my relitives are very spoiled..hubby buys way too much for them & its all over in one day.
they dont even know what gift is from who?..its a gift opening FRENZY

it feels good to give.

i do the angel tree thing every year, where you pick a kids angel off of the tree at wal-mart, and buy something for them, and bring it back to customer service, and on dec. 15th, the charity group comes and picks it up.

kimrachell said:

I usually do this also,but this year there was no tree to be found in my local Walmart.

You guys are awesome

EmeraldSkies said:

They used to have one of these at a mall near me, but I noticed
they didn't have one this year either.

obsessed said:

sim, é verdade!!!! obrigado por lembrares