Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
One way to support one's community is to help those who are less fortunate.
And one means to do that is the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots drive.
Saturday, the toy drive will be held at National City Bank, downtown Warsaw. Gordy Young from WNDU Channel 16 will be there from 7 to 10 a.m., but toys will be collected until 11:30 a.m.
All the toys collected will stay in Kosciusko County.
U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. David Morales said they want people from all parts of the county to participate. Last year, several thousand children were helped from several hundred families, he said. Approximately 10,000 toys were collected in the county.
The goal this year, he said, is not a figure but just to take care of everyone who needs it. The organizations Toys for Tots is helping this year includes Combined Community Services, Salvation Army, Helping Hands, Our Father's House, the Boys and Girls Club, several churches and private families.
Volunteers from all over Kosciusko County will be on hand Saturday to help out, including police and fire department officers, scouts and students.
"Anyone and everyone is welcome to stop by and show their support," said Morales.
If someone cannot make it to the drive Saturday, toys can still be donated until the weekend before Christmas. Drop-off barrels are at the police department, Warsaw schools, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Owens and Big Lots. Items Morales said the drive is usually short on are toys for youths age 10 and up.
Morales said that without the continued support of all the businesses in the past years, the toy drive couldn't have been as successful as it has been.
Toys for Tots was started in the 1940s by a marine and his wife. Handmade toys were given to needy children by the couple. From there, the program grew and now corporations help sponsor the drive. Morales began the Toys for Tots program in Kosciusko County in 1990.
For more information, questions or to put names on the toy/assistance list, call Morales at 267-5174, Ext. 2367, or at the Warsaw Police Department, 372-9511.
