How much do you know about Toys for Tots?

It’s almost common knowledge now that the US Marine Corps is actively involved in the Toys for Tots campaign. But how did that tradition start?  What do Marines have to do with Teddy bears, pogo sticks, and doll houses?

In 1947, Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR founded Toys for Tots in Los Angeles, California.  5,000 toys were collected that first year.  A year later, the US Marine Corps adopted the Toys for Tots program and expanded it into a nationwide community action project, termed the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots Program.  Marines at each Reserve Center throughout the United States started conducting toy collection and distribution campaigns in the communities surrounding the Center. 

Walt Disney designed the Toys for Tots logo and created the first national Toys for Tots poster.  Over the years, many celebrities have gotten involved with Toys for Tots: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Clint Eastwood, Tim Allen, Kenny Rogers, among others. 

The program grew astronomically, and at the end of the of the most recent 2012 campaign, Toys for Tots had distributed nearly 16.8 million toys to more than 7 million children.

This year, you have the opportunity to help Toys for Tots surpass 2012’s 16.8 million toys.  JB’s on 41 invites you to attend “Bowl with the Marines” on December 15th from 1-4 pm.  Bring a toy (or two or three!) and you’ll receive a $3 Game Room Card. And, if you join in Red Pin Bowling, you’ll get to spin JB’s Wheel of Fun for extra prizes every time you get a strike.  Red Pin Bowling cost $5, and all proceeds are donated to the Toys for Tots program. 

Give back this holiday season, and get rewarded for doing it with JB’s on 41! From 5,000 toys in 1947 to over 16 million in 2012—how many toys can we reach in 2013?

*Information courtesy of ToysforTots.org