Toys for Tots

The annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign is
underway in the Lincoln area. Every year Toys for Tots collects
new toys to give to needy children all over the country. These
children — including thousands in  Nebraska — might not otherwise
receive any toys for Christmas.

Toys for Tots Started with One Ragdoll

The Toys for Tots program began in 1947 when the Diane Hendricks, the wife of Marine Reserve Colonel Bill Hendricks made a Raggedy Ann doll and asked her husband to give it to an organization that helped needy children. Sadly, there were no such organizations to be found. So Colonel Hendricks and members of his Marine Corps Reserve unit took matters into their own hands, collecting and distributing 5,000 toys to needy children in Los Angeles that Christmas.

That was the beginning of Toys for Tots. The program was officially adopted by the US. Marine Corps Reserve the next year with toys being collected and distributed in 74 communities all over the country. Now, more than 60 years later, Toys for Tots reaches more than 600 communities nationwide, giving an average of 16 million toys to 7 million needy children every year during the holidays.

How You Can Participate in Lincoln’s Toys for Tots

 In Lincoln, United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County assists with the Toys for Tots program, collecting and distributing toys to needy children in local communities. Individuals and companies who would like to help this year can find information at www.unitedwaylincoln.org.