Toys for Tots
I’ve been the go-to guy at for the last couple years when it comes to Toys for Tots, so it makes me sad to have to post this news about a major shortfall the USMC charity is facing in Philly:
Facing a drastic falloff in donations this year, the Philadelphia-area Toys for Tots campaign announced an “emergency toy rush” this morning.
Contributions are down by nearly 20,000 toys compared to last year at this time, when about 40,000 toys had been collected, said Gunnery Sgt. Robert Putney, who leads the local effort for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
“This is not just happening in Philadelphia,” he said.
Donations are down in other local communities – such as Camden, Willow Grove and Folsom – as well as nationwide, said Putney, who lives in Glassboro.
To me, the greatest joy of participating in Toys for Tots isn’t the happy kids. Let’s be honest: a kid will be as happy with a plaything as basic as a rubber band as the latest doohickey or doll. No, it’s the moms and dads that really get me. Sometimes they’re people with nothing more than the clothes on their back and a bed in a shelter. Sometimes they’re people who lost their livelihood right before Christmas. It’s a shitty place to be, one I’ve experienced to some degree or another at times in my life. When you see the relief and happiness in these parents’ eyes that they’re going to be able to give their kids presents despite all the hardships they struggle with, it’s a very humbling and fulfilling feeling.
And on that note, I have to go outside and stand in the rain to protest the closing of my local library before going to a town hall meeting with our mayor.
