from staff reports
The first signs that Christmas is on the way are here — stores are filling with ornaments and decorations, some holiday early birds have already begun putting up their trees, and this year's Toys for Tots campaign will kick off this Thursday.
The kick off of the Naval Air Station Meridian Marine sponsored campaign will take place at 10:30 a.m. at Geoffrey's toy store near Bonita Lakes Mall.
Through the generosity of the local community, Marines collected nearly 7,000 new toys last year and hope to exceed that number this year.
Donation boxes for new, unwrapped toys are now set up in Meridian at Geoffrey’s, both Wal-Mart locations, Sam’s Club, Big Lots, Meridian Yamaha and both Community Bank locations. Boxes are also at Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia and Extreme Wireless in Newton.
Toys will be distributed to The Wesley House Community Center and the Salvation Army in Meridian.
The primary goal of the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.
Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR, and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children.Their logo was designed in 1948 by Walt Disney.
More information about Toys for Tots can be found at www.toysfortots.org.
This year’s local Toys for Tots coordinator is Sgt. Antonio Ferguson. He can be reached at (601) 679-2792.
