Toys for Tots was established in 1947 when Major Bill Hendericks of the United States Marine Core and a group of Marine Reservist in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. The idea came from his wife Diane who in the fall of 1947 handcrafted a Raggedy Ann doll and asked him to drop it off at a place that provided toys for underprivileged children. He cam back home to tell his wife that there was no place that did this. Upon hearing this, she suggested he start one and the rest is history.
The 1947 pilot project was so successful that in 1948 the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots and expanded it into a nationwide campaign. Toys for Tots campaign began in every community in which a reserve unit was located. Marines have conducted successful toy drives each year since 1948.
In 1948, Walt Disney designed the Toys for Tots logo that is still used today. Disney also designed the first poster used to promote the national program. Nat “King” Cole, Peggy Lee and Vic Damone recorded the Toys for Tots song written by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster in 1956. Bob Hope, John Wayne, Doris Day, Lorrie Morgan, Tim Allen and Kenny Rogers are a few of a long list of celebrities who have given then time and talents to Toys for Tots. First Lady Nancy Reagan served as the national spokesperson in 1983 and First Lady Barbara Bush served as National Spokesperson in 1992.
From 1947 through 1979, marines collected and distributed new and used toys. On reserve, drill weekends during October, November and December they clean and refurbish used toys.
From 1980 till present day Marines have collected and distributed only new toys due to the Secretary of Defense Total Force-Program which assigned Reserves a greater role in Americas defense, this required them to dedicate every minute of weekend drills honing and polishing combat skills. There was no time to clean up and fix used toys. In addition, there was public concern e of used toys. In addition, there were public concern factors related to the passing out of used toys.
On September 1991, the Security of defense authorized the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation as an operational organization. The foundation arranged and paid for the creation, publication, manufacturing, distribution of promotion and support to Toys for Tots coordinators and enabled individual donors to take charitable deductions on their income tax statements.
In 1995, the Security of Defense approved Toys for Tots as an official activity of the U.S. Marine Corps and as an official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve. In 1996, they were expanded to cover all fifty states by authorizing selected Marine Corps League Detachments and selected local civilian organizations to conduct toy collections and distribution without a Marine Reserve Unit.
Over the years of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program has distributed more than 351 million toys for 166 million needy children. They have supplemented local toy collection with more than 64.5 million toys valued at more than $344 million, plus provided promotion and support materials valued at over $3.9 million.
