HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, thanks to Bill and Diane Hendricks, who started the program for needy Los Angeles children during Christmas, 1947. Diane Hendricks had collected some toys and had knitted a red and white rag doll to give to some underprivileged children. She couldn't find anyone collecting toys, so she turned to her husband, Bill, for help. Hendricks, then a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve at the Chavez Ravine station, suggested to his commanding officer that Marine Reservists initiate a toy drive. "He liked the idea," Hendricks (a retired Colonel) recalled this week. "And he said two words: 'Don't fail.' " The Marines collected 7,000 toys that year, with the Hendricks' (who never had children of their own) and their friends delivering them to families until midnight Christmas Eve. "Anybody who said hello to me that first year got drafted to deliver toys," said Hendricks, who lives in Burbank.
Last year, Toys for Tots volunteers in 50 states and Panama distributed more than 7 million toys to 3 million children. Collection barrels for the drive can be found at many corporate headquarters, churches, social and civic organizations. Toys for Tots have become a traditional Christmas fixture at Warner Studios, where Hendricks previously worked as publicity director, assistant to studio head Jack Warner. He was director of the cartoon department and an Academy Award-winning documentary producer. "It was a success right from the start," Bill Hendricks said, "and it all started with that magical rag doll. It showed there was a need for this kind of program then, and I believe there's a bigger need today."
HOW IT 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 Headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, an IRS recognized 501(c) (3) not-for-profit public charity, independent of the Marine Corps, is the authorized fund raising and support organization for the Toys for Tots Program. The Foundation provides the funding and support needed for successful annual toy collection and distribution campaigns. The foundation staff is located in and office suite aboard Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia, about 35 miles south of Washington, DC. Local campaigns are conducted annually in over 450 communities covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Commander, Marine Forces Reserve has under his command 280 Marine Reserve Units located at 183 Marine Reserve Centers and seven Marine Corps Bases/Air Stations covering 46 states. To cover all 50 states and more communities in each state, the Commander, Marine Forces Reserve authorizes the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to permit selected 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 U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. One individual, either a Marine, member of a Marine Corps League Detachment, or member of a local community organization, is designated the Toys for Tots coordinator for that community. The coordinator is responsible for planning, organizing and conducting the campaign in his/her community.