A large fundraising effort culminated this past month when 352 Mitchell County children experienced a Merry Christmas and received gifts through the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program.
Toys for Tots is organized by Mitchell County’s own Mark Thomas. The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program is to collect new, unwrapped toys in October, November and December of each year. Those gifts are then distributed as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community.
“We couldn’t do this without the help we get,” Thomas said. “Not just donations of toys and money, but from a lot of volunteers, as well. Every year, the program gets bigger and every year, we have people step up, take on more responsibility and do whatever they can to make this happen.”
Donations are accepted each year from across the county. Both individuals and businesses help make the program possible through their contributions. The program operated with about $15,000 in donations this year, including a $6,000 contribution from BRP.
Donations are stored on the ground floor of the Cross Street Commerce Center. The multitude of items sprawls across the vast space.
This year, 60 volunteers loaded bags full of gifts onto vehicles during distribution days. Gifts were distributed on Dec. 4, 11 and 18.
Thomas especially thanked Christy Bryant for her work with the program.
“She does everything,” he said. “She just puts it all together.”
The primary goal of Toys for Tots is delivering, via Christmas gifts, a message of hope to area children that will help them become productive, patriotic citizens.
“It was one of our biggest years ever,” Thomas said. “It’s a lot of work. A lot of people really opened their hearts up. Maybe next year, it can get even bigger.”