I found this on another board and it is legit. Excedrin company will donate money to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program each and every time you access their site and click on the Toys 4 Tots logo.
Here’s the link: http://www.excedrin.com
Please click the h*ll out of that logo for the little children!!
Thought this page deserved a bump.
I’ve already emailed the site to everyone in my address book.
Not only a bump, but a plug for the Toys For Tots. One new, unwrapped toy in it’s original packaging is all that is asked of you. This program has virtually no overhead costs (except your tax dollars at work!) and makes a huge impact to kids all over the country.
Okay, here’s a question…not specifically about Toys for Tots, but as long as we’re on the subject:
My local Fleet bank branches are doing some sort of campaign where they are collecting toys, to be distributed to needy kids. But when I asked where and how the toys were to be distributed, nobody could tell me. I found this a little weird. The website isn’t much clearer. I doubt anything fishy is going on, but I would like to know.
So, should I give my toy to Toys for Tots or to my local bank?
I also doubt it is fishy, but if you want to know which organization will be distributibg the toys themselves, I’d say choose one you know. If you wanna see Marines in Dress Blue Uniforms, I’d recommend a TFT function, not just a drop box.
Here there was a Marine standing outside KB Toys at the Dayton Mall. I just went in, bought a toy, and dropped it in the barrel. I’m sure that toy will get where it’s meant to.
One especially bad year I went to Toys for Tots for help and they are wonderful people.
They didn’t make me feel like scum for getting help.
I did still have to buy a few things for the older children since most of the toys donated are for the age range of 8 and younger, so when I donate I donate for older children since I know that the younger ones recieving are more than covered.
That year was the only year I couldn’t donate and instead had to recieve.
I do an annual drive at my place of business matching dollar for dollar up to a certain point. This year I am pushing for toys for older kids - but the problem is, must of us don’t know what that would be. You see, I have no kids and many of my office workers have none, or have none in the age range. So, the point of this long winded post is - just what kinds of gifts work for the older kids? I got some footballs, basketballs and various models, but I’m not sure I’ve hit the right things.
Most kids are happy to be getting anything, so yeah, footballs, models, baseball gloves, toys, whatever.
And Kricket, of course no one is going to treat you like scum, the whole point of the Marines helping is just that, to help. When I was in Cincinatti, we had a whole warehouse donated for a month or so for the storage of toys and that thing was full every year.
That probably depends on the location. I just donated 15 new toys and dolls to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots yesterday, and when the guy came to my office to pick them up*, he said they are most in need of gifts for the really young kids – ages 2 and 3.
*Shockingly, the Marine Corps does NO promotion for this wonderful program here in L.A. (at least none that I’ve ever heard). I had to hunt them down from their website, and when I inquired as to where the nearest dropoff location is to me, I was told they’d come to me to pick toys up (ie, they have no dropoff locations)! I only know about it from many years ago when I lived in St. Louis, where there’s not a grocery store or mall you can go to and not find a giant barrel to put toys in. One year the temp agency I worked for as a sales rep sent a notice to all the branches that the company was a national sponsor and to have the Marine Corps bring a barrel to our offices. Well, uhm, unemployed people come to our offices – they’re the ones least likely to be able to afford an extra toy! So I came up with a campaign where I brought small boxes to our biggest prospective customers’ offices and offered them free temp help for every X# of toys they collected for the drive. My boss liked the idea and had all 4 reps in our division do the same thing. I collected over 750 toys, and combined, our division donated nearly 1700 toys to the Marines that year. It was so successful that the next year the Corporate office made it national policy to run the toy drive like that in every branch. It’s one of the few accomplishments in my life that I’m most proud of.
::heading to the link to click:: Thanks for posting it, WillSantini!
My parents help run the distribution of TFT toys in their town through their VFW post. It’s a great program.
As for toys for older children, my mom says that small hand held electronic games go over real well. Last year, a local businessman (my ex-boss) donated a half dozen PSOnes. They didn’t have enough to go around of course, so they let the parents sign up for a raffle to receive them. It seemed the fairest way.
Last year was so successful, they let the parents take pretty much what they wanted. They still had toys left over, so they saved them for this year.
Headed over to the web site WillSantini, thanks for the heads up.
Semper Fi
Oo! Marines in blue uniforms? I’m so there!
Just a reminder that if you donate toys that require batteries, to include the batteries with the toy! Just tape them to the outside of the box.
Shayna, if I recall the LA Marine Corps Reserve District has a HUGE program for TFT, and they had staff dedicated to it year round, headed by a female Gunnery Sgt., maybe ten years ago. I don’t know what happened out there. Thank you for making the effort.
My pleasure, UncleBill. If they have a huge program here, they’re sure keeping it top secret, even on the Naval & Marine Corps Reserve Center Los Angeles official website. From the Toys for Tots website’s list of California Coordinators, the closest one to me is San Pedro, so I emailed the Sergeant listed, who then forwarded my email to another Sergeant who replied to my inquiry about dropoff locations simply with a, “we’ll come pick them up”. Odd, huh? I wonder what happened.
Thanks for mentioning that, since I forgot. :smack: I always include the batteries if needed. Some of the toys for the younger kids need them too.
Thank you thinksnow. I know that they aren’t supposed to make you feel that way, but when you are down and out and feel real bad about taking something that you know there is always someone worse off than you could use it does something to your self esteem.
I have come across some condencending people in my down and out years. I am sure some of them are jaded because I am sure they see many forms of people trying to screw the system, and I bet sometimes they don’t realise that they come off that way.
When I got up and on my feet I started donating cause my brother called me from twenty-nine palms and asked me to. Now I do every year except that one.
The people were great! Them men looked great!
It is very organised and the folks who work at the arsenal go in on their own time to sort toys for families.
When I was a hostess for Bob Evans I talked them into getting a drop box put up there as well.
Oh, and thank you to Shayna for pointing out that it is different from area to area for age donation. Never occured to me.
That and I’m glad to see you posting more, I’ve missed you around here.
We just had about 2000 toys delivered!!!