Our goal is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.
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Christmas is a time of joy, happiness and goodwill. It is a time of giving and helping those that are less fortunate than ourselves, especially children. For over 50 years, one organization... the US Marine Corps Reserve, is the unchallenged leader in providing hope to needy children at Christmas time.
Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Diane Hendricks hand crafted a Raggedy Ann doll and asked her Marine husband, Major Bill Hendricks, to deliver the doll to an organization which would give it to a needy child at Christmas. What Bill discovered was that no such organization existed. Diane told Bill that he should start one, which he did. And in 1947, Toys for Tots was born. The first campaign was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and it expanded into a nationwide campaign.
Every year since 1947, Marine Corps Reserve units across the nation conduct Toys for Tots campaigns. The initial goal remains the hallmark of the program today, "bring the joy of Christmas to America's needy children."
| The Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is an
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