Marines


Toys for Tots

MFR SEAL - FLAT - 2022
Information about the Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program
Please join us in bringing a message of hope to less fortunate children
About

In 1947, Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks was preparing for the holidays with his family in Los Angeles, CA. His wife, Diane, was an altruistic mother with nimble fingers and a knack for handcrafting. She handmade a few dolls during the holidays that year and asked her husband to donate them to an agency that supported children in need. The agency he sought didn’t exist - not yet.

Hendricks returned to his wife with the disheartening news, but instead of fretting, she inspired him to “start one!” He proceeded to round up the Marines in his unit to create a way to donate the dolls to children in need. They collected and distributed 5,000 toys that year.

Seeing the impact it created, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Clifton B. Cates, directed all Reserve units to implement a Toys for Tots campaign in 1948, making the Program national.

Hendricks’ civilian job was as Director of Public Relations for Warner Brothers Studios, he used his connections to support the Program to expand its reach. As a favor to his friend Bill, Walt Disney created the first Toys for Tots poster that was adopted as the official logo.

More than seventy-five years later, Toys for Tots now distributes an average of 18 million toys and books to over 7 million less fortunate children across the Nation. 

Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators Attend Conference
The annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign is the hallmark community outreach program of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The mission of the Toys for Tots (TFT) Program is to collect new unwrapped toys and distribute those toys to less fortunate children at Christmas in order to help bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America’s less fortunate children. Local Campaign Coordinators, either Marine Forces Reserve Marines / Sailors, or a Local Community Organization (LCO) volunteer, lead and supervise over 860 local campaigns across our great Nation. The Foundation hosts an annual training conference to prepare both new and veteran Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators for the upcoming campaign. This annual training conference began in 1999 and grew to a level of approximately 500 Coordinators. The training that the Coordinators receive is through active participation in classes provided in all-hands sessions, panel discussions, and Regional group breakout sessions. The training is also provided virtually via WebEx to allow campaign staff and volunteers to participate. The speakers include members of the MTFTF staff, USMC and Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR) leadership, and current TFT Campaign Coordinators.

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