Toys for Tots drive underway

Third grader Lauren Jaykus won a brand new bike in a drawing held at East Side Primary, but chose not to keep it.

The 8-year-old decided right away to give her new bike to Toys for Tots so a child who didn't have a bike could get one for Christmas. She already had a bike and her parents, John and April Jaykus, have taught her the importance of giving to others.

Toys for Tots is all about giving to help others. With the gift of a shiny new toy, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is able to offer happiness and hope to disadvantaged children who might otherwise be overlooked this Christmas. People throughout the community can have the privilege of making sure a needy child in Bedford County receives some new toys this holiday season.

Area Toys for Tots coordinator Col. Ken Crowell (ret.) said that all the money and toys collected for Toys for Tots in Bedford County stays in Bedford County.

"We make sure that the donations we receive from people here in Shelbyville and Bedford County go to help needy children right here at home," Crowell said. "We try to make sure that a minimum of two toys go to each child on our list."

Toys for Tots collects only new toys, and organizers ask that those who make donations bring the toys to the various drop-off points unwrapped so the gifts can be sorted and given to the right child.

"We need bikes and trikes this year," Crowell said. "And we also need soccer balls, and whatever toys people can give for children. I know what Christmas means to a family, and if we can we want to get kids a toy."

Local drop-off points are Shelbyville Fire Department-Station 1, First Community Bank, Doak-Howell Funeral Home, Hart's Chapel Nissan, Century Mold, Harvey's Gym, The Express, Musgrave Pencil, Cooper Steel, Cash Express, and Black and Blue Sports.

Cash donations can also be made by dropping off money at the Fire Department-Station 1, or by mailing a check to: Toys for Tots, P.O. Box 2187, Shelbyville, TN 37162. Checks should be made payable to: USMC Toys for Tots. All donations made to the Toys for Tots Foundation are tax-deductible as it is an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity.

"The final day for pick up of the toys is Dec. 8," Crowell said. "The Shelbyville Jaycees have been real helpful to pick up toys and help us sort them. They have been great."

Crowell said that if anyone needs help to contact the Shelbyville Fire-Department.

Toys for Tots was started 59 years ago when Maj. Bill Hendricks, USMCR, and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed more than 5,000 toys to needy children. Hendricks' idea caught on and was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots the following year and expanded it into a nationwide program. In 1995, the Secretary of Defense approved Toys for Tots as an official activity of the U.S. Marine Corps and an official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve.