Christmas will be a little brighter for some area families thanks to the efforts of 4-County employees. For one month, employees and consumers at the five Customer Service Centers, as well as 4-County”s Corporate Center, dug deep and offered their time and money to do some Christmas shopping for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots. The effort was a big success as nearly 200 toys were collected for distribution in the cooperative”s eight-county service territory.
“We had wonderful participation from our employees and there was a lot of enthusiasm to help our local communities. It was a great way to get in the Christmas spirit,” said 4-County Communications Coordinator Brad Barr.
Toys for Tots drop-off boxes were placed in each 4-County office Nov. 6. The toys were collected Dec. 8 and picked up by Toys for Tots personnel Dec. 9.
Charles Adkins, a nine-year area coordinator for Toys for Tots, said program participation from organizations like 4-County is vital in keeping services strong. “We wouldn”t be able to do this program without groups like 4-County. It”s hard to explain how important this program is. Children could wake up this Christmas morning and not have anything. Someone has to help. We try to take up as much slack as we can,” Adkins said.
Sgt. Matthew Simpson of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, a six-year participant in the Toys for Tots program, assisted Adkins and 4-County personnel with pickup of the cooperative”s collected toys. “It”s a great program,” Simpson said. “I”ve seen the look on the family members” faces when they get the toys. It”s priceless. I”m proud to be a part of it.”
Over the 62 years of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to 188 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made U.S. Marines the unchallenged leader in looking after less fortunate children at Christmas.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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