Washington, DC – January 21, 2010 – The results of the 62nd annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign, conducted during October, November and December 2009, have been tabulated. The results are: U.S. Marines distributed 16.4 million new toys to 7.4 million less fortunate children throughout the nation. This was one of the most successful campaigns in the 62 year history of Toys for Tots – and this in spite of the economy.

 

Toys for Tots began with a single local campaign conducted by the Marine Reserve Unit in Los Angeles in 1947. The next year the Commandant of the Marine Corps directed that all 74 Marine Reserve Units would conduct local Toys for Tots Campaigns. This past year, Toys for Tots campaigns were conducted in 691 communities covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands – the most extensive coverage in the history of the program.

 

The success attained during the 2009 Toys for Tots campaign is the result of outstanding efforts on the part of the 691 local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators, Marine Forces Reserve, and the staff of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. The American people and our corporate sponsors are to be applauded for their compassion and generosity during these tough economic times. 

 

Toys for Tots, the U.S. Marine Corps’ premier community action program and one of the nation’s flagship Christmas charitable causes, is dedicated to “delivering a message of hope and bringing the joy of Christmas” to America’s less fortunate children.