Toys for Tots
​About the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program
In 1947, Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks was preparing for the holidays with his family in Los Angeles, CA. His wife, Diane, was an altruistic mother with nimble fingers and a knack for handcrafting. She handmade a few dolls during the holidays that year and asked her husband to donate them to an agency that supported children in need. The agency he sought didn’t exist - not yet.
Hendricks returned to his wife with the disheartening news, but instead of fretting, she inspired him to “start one!” He proceeded to round up the Marines in his unit to create a way to donate the dolls to children in need. They collected and distributed 5,000 toys that year.
Seeing the impact it created, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Clifton B. Cates, directed all Reserve units to implement a Toys for Tots campaign in 1948, making the Program national. Hendricks’ civilian job was as Director of Public Relations for Warner Brothers Studios, he used his connections to support the Program to expand its reach. As a favor to his friend Bill, Walt Disney created the first Toys for Tots poster that was adopted as the official logo. More than seventy-five years later, Toys for Tots now distributes an average of 18 million toys and books to over 7 million less fortunate children across the Nation.
Mission: The basic mission of the Marine Toys for Tots Program is to collect new unwrapped toys and distribute those toys to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas.
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Foundation Objectives: The objectives of the Foundation are to help economically disadvantaged children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our Nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to improving communities in the future.
How the Program Works: The U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is directed by the Commander, Marine Forces Reserve, with the assistance of his staff from the Marine Forces Reserve. The Commander of Marine Forces Reserve has over 150 Reserve Units located in 47 states under his command. To cover all 50 states and more communities in each state, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation selects Marine Corps League Detachments∗∗ and Local Community Organizations∗∗∗ (generally Veteran Marines) located in communities without a Marine Reserve Center, to conduct Toys for Tots Campaigns as part of the overall Marine Toys for Tots Program.
