Marines Making Christmas Merry for the Tots

The Marines want you.

No, they’re not asking you to sign up for a relaxing getaway to Parris Island, but they are wanting a little bit of your time and money to help children in need. The Marines are in the midst of their annual Toys for Tots campaign, an effort that began back in 1947 to distribute toys to needy children at Christmas.

In Henderson County, a Toys for Tots warehouse, located in the strip mall beside the Wal-Mart on Highland Square Drive, is in full swing collecting toys and quickly sending them out the door to make Christmas merry for children in Western North Carolina.

Staff Sgt. James Holbert, a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, is coordinating efforts at the warehouse that serves an 11-county area, including Henderson County. He said the goal of Toys for Tots is pretty basic, but the Marines need your help to hit it. When you’re out buying your Christmas presents, Holbert asks you to think of children less fortunate and buy an extra gift for them.

The needs are greater than ever, Holbert said.

“Historically every year, we’ve gotten more and more requests and a higher number of children we’ve been needing to assist,” said Holbert as he stood in the Toys for Tots warehouse where toys are stacked halfway up to the ceiling, many in white bags ready to be distributed. “We’re predicting at least 11,000 children this year that we’ll help, and maybe 12,000 or 12,500. The only goal that we set is make sure we don’t leave one request unfilled. We want to make sure that everybody who requests something gets something.”

To help Toys for Tots, Holbert said people can drop off new, unwrapped toys at various collection boxes throughout the area. “Local businesses have volunteered to let us put a collection box in their establishment so people can come by and make a donation for Toys for Tots,” he said. “A list of those drop off locations will be available on our Web site, which will be updated very soon.”

Some of the sites include Outback Steakhouse, Carolina First Bank, the UPS Store, Big Lots, Kmart and Tractor Supply Store. On Black Friday, a Marine will be stationed outside of Kmart to collect toys or monetary donations. Ruth Holbert, the co-coordinator at the warehouse, said monetary donations are welcome. She said monetary donations that are sent directly to Hendersonville will stay in this area.

“If they send it to the foundation, then it gets spread across the United States, so it’s better to send it to us, and it stays here,” she said.

Ruth Holbert said there are some particular needs that Toys for Tots would like people to help fill.

“Our short areas are usually the 9-13-year-old children, boys and girls,” she said. “People usually think about the smaller kids with dolls and trucks, but they forget the older kids and things that are appropriate for them. We like games. We can give them to both sexes and we can spread them from a 9-year-old to a 13-year-old. Games are a great thing for that age group.”

Another area where donations sometimes fall short is infants, 6 months to 18 month.

Toys for Tots gets requests for toys from a variety of places, including Department of Social Services, schools, fire departments and churches. “We work very closely with the schools,” Ruth said. “Any program or organization that helps families this time of the year, they have the means to verify the family’s income and that they are in need.”

People wanting more information on how to help Toys for Tots can call 828-388-0376 or send an e-mail to holbert12@hughes.net. If people wish to donate money, checks, made out to Toys for Tots, can be sent to Ruth Holbert at 1035 Kyles Creek Road, Hendersonville, NC 28792. The local Toys for Tots Web site is http://www.wnctoysfortots.org.

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