A tight economy is tough news for the U.S. Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in the Valley this holiday season.

The foundation said toy donations across the Valley are down dramatically this year. Toys for Tots worries tens of thousands of less fortunate families who are counting on toys to brighten their holiday may be left out.

The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

The Phoenix branch is concerned because right now 25,000 West Valley families living in Glendale, Peoria and Surprise are asking for donations. Another 10,000 families living in Goodyear, Avondale and Tolleson are also requesting toy donations.

In addition to the 35,000 needy Valley families, another 50,000 toys are being requested by churches, non-profit agencies and a half dozen elementary schools.

Toys for Tots tells ABC15 News the foundation has already distributed 60,000 toys to families across the Valley, but they are down to 10,000 toys and requests are reaching nearly 90,000 as Christmas approaches.

“At the end you always have to push,” said Toys for Tots Foundation spokesman Phil McIlveen, “With anything that your giving it’s never going to come easy but there’s a big blessing at the other end and that blessing is in that child’s eyes when they get that toy.”

There are several dozen Toys for Tots toy drop sites across the Valley. Store More! self-storage branches across the Valley are offering free gift wrapping for one donated toy; and one free month of storage for two donated toys.

McIlveen is confident Valley companies like Store More! will come through before Christmas.

“Eight days out there’s a lot of people in Phoenix that can give and a lot of organizations that can step up and give. We’ve always met the need and we’ve always ran into the same issue so I’m hoping that it can come together.”
To see more about the Toy’s For Tots at STORE MORE! on abc15 (KNXV-TV, Phoenix) go to this link:

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/15links/default.aspx?articleID=18305

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Other News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.