Toys for Tots marches on after fall of Toys R Us
Other companies boost contributions to charity
Erie Jackson received “by far the coolest toy” for Christmas when he was a kid: a toy truck that would follow directions drawn on it.
But Jackson, now 21 and a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, wouldn’t have unwrapped that gift without the help of one program: Toys for Tots.
“They gave us amazing toys for Christmas when I was a child,” Jackson said. “We couldn’t afford to get good things or even have a Christmas.”
Run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, Toys for Tots has delivered holiday gifts nationwide to less fortunate children since 1947. But this year, the program faced unique challenges with the fall of one of its largest retail partners, Toys R Us, and multiple natural disasters across the country.
The program knew it needed solutions if it was to fulfill its mission of distributing gifts to those in need, said Lt. Gen. Pete Osman, president and CEO for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
“The generosity of the American public, and the great support we get from our corporate sponsors, have enabled us to push forward,” Osman said.
Pushing through without Toys R
Us: For the past 14 years, Toys R Us served as Toys for Tots’ top corporate sponsor, raising about $8 million each year in donations and gifts. When Toys R Us closed all its stores in June, Toys for Tots needed to find alternative fundraising sources.
The organization reached out to other corporate sponsors, several of which responded to the call. Disney gave $5 for each new toy donated for up to a total of $1 million, from Nov. 29
through Dec. 15. Hasbro matched any donation of a new toy or game to a local Toys for Tots drive for up to 1 million gifts. And toy company Funko doubled its donation of toys for a total contribution of more than $7 million this year. Additionally, Toys for Tots has focused on increasing individual donations, Osman said.
“There are lots of businesses which have donation bins, but one of the issues is getting out the message that people can come and donate,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy Global Data. Toys for Tots has “done some work with radio to spread the message, and that should help boost donations.”
The Toys R Us absence has also been felt at the local level.
Deborah Oberlin, 49, a Toys for Tots coordinator from Carroll County, Ohio, oversees 10 counties in the state. She said one county in particular – Belmont – had benefited from “one of the best Toys R Us ever.”
Its closure “definitely opened up a little wound that we’re trying to put a Band-Aid on as quickly as we can,” she said.
Individual donations and support from various companies – particularly from the oil and gas industry, Oberlin said – have played a major role in helping to close the gap. With the aid, about
6,000 families in Ohio will receive gifts this year, she said.
❚ Charity in the face of natural disasters: When Faith Martinez turned 7 years old in 2012, she asked for an unusual birthday gift: donations to Toys for Tots.
“I realized that there were kids out there that don’t have a lot, and I get a lot for Christmas,” she said. “With my birthday so close to Christmas, there’s no point in me getting extra gifts.”
Martinez, who lives in Santa Clara, California, has been raising gifts for Toys for Tots since.
In the wake of the California wildfire, which destroyed thousands of homes in November, Martinez received more donations than ever before when she turned 13 on Dec. 8.
“Every person gave like three gifts,”
Martinez said. ❚ Making children’s days in the holi
day season: Tacshekia Duncan received gifts this year for her children through Children’s Friend, a child-serving nonprofit agency in Rhode Island that got some gifts through a local Toys for Tots drive held at area Cardi’s Furniture stores.
Duncan, 35, from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who plans to go back to school in January to pursue education in nursing, said she was “wowed” by the gifts her children received – which included dolls and teddy bears.
“Just seeing the smiles that my children get from seeing these gifts … I’m so grateful,” Duncan said.
Despite the challenges this year, Osman said he hopes Toys for Tots will give out 18 to 20 million toys to about 7.5 million less fortunate children by the end of the holiday season, about the same as in recent years.
“We’re optimistic that when the sun sets and the campaign is over with, we’re going to have done about the best we can,” Osman said.