Volunteers Collect Toys for Tots

The chapter held its yearly Toys for Tots luncheon at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in December. Toys for Tots began in 1947, when Maj. Bill Hendricks, USMCR, and a group of Marine reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. The idea came from Maj. Hendricks' wife, Diane. In the fall of 1947, Diane crafted a homemade doll and asked Bill to deliver the doll to an organization, which would give it to a needy child at Christmas. When he determined that no agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one. The 1947 pilot project was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expanded it into a nationwide campaign. That year, Marine Corps Reserve units across the nation conducted Toys for Tots campaigns in each community in which a Marine Reserve Center was located. The Marines have conducted successful nationwide campaigns at Christmas each year since 1948. Chapter members did their part this year by bringing in more than 100 toys for donation. At the luncheon, Col. Frank A. Richie, USMC, commanding officer, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, gave a sobering speech about the war in Afghanistan. The war hero story Col. Richie shared with the attendees caused each person to reflect on the men and woman overseas who risk their lives for the United States.

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