Toys for Tots registration Nov. 19-22

The year was 1947, and Marine Corps Re­serve Major Bill Hen­dricks’ wife Diane had a few handcrafted dolls.

She told her husband to deliver the dolls to an agency that supports children in need.

When Bill reported back to his wife that he could not find such an organization, she in­structed him to “start one!”

Maj. Hendricks and the Marines in his re­serve unit in Los Ange­les collected and distrib­uted 5,000 toys in 1947, according to the Toys for Tots website.

Hendricks happened to work for Warner Brothers Studios, and his personal friend Walt Disney designed the first Toys for Tots post­er, which included the miniature three-car train that became the logo for the program.

The Marine Corps Toys for Tots Founda­tion was recognized as a not-for-profit charity in 1991 at the behest of the Marine Corps.

The Foundation raises funds, purchases toys, provides promotional and support materials, manages all funds raised and donated, solicits corporate support, ed­ucates the public, and handles day-to-day op­erations.

In 2024, 873 local Marine Corps League chapters across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C., dis­tributed over 30 million toys to nearly 13 mil­lion economically dis­advantaged children.

According to Sgt. Curt Griffith, who over­sees the Toys for Tots program for the Marine Corps League Cpl. Mat­thew D. Conley Attach­ment #1477 in Shef­field, the local chapter had 572 families regis­ter for the program last year.

The league gave out an average of four pres­ents to 1,851 children across Colbert, Lauder­dale, Franklin, Marion and Winston counties.

The sign up for this year will be held from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

Registration will oc­cur at the league build­ing located at 215 S Montgomery Ave. in Sheffield.

Anyone who wants to register children needs to bring photo identi­fication, proof of ad­dress like a utility bill or lease agreement and a birth certificate, So­cial Security card (or both) for any child to be signed up.

Late registration day will be Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Griffith said the league holds fundrais­ers throughout the year like golf tournaments to help fund the program.

He said Belk depart­ment store helps with a charity sale twice a year.

The league also takes in monetary donations and physical toy dona­tions.

“On Oct. 1, we start putting out boxes at various businesses,” Griffith said. “We have three 24-hour boxes at the Marine Corps League building, Mus­cle Shoals Fire Station No. 1 (1002 Avalon Ave.) and Ollie’s in Florence (1700 Darby Drive).

“Last year, we col­lected 7,500 toys from the community and pur­chased another 2,000 with the money collect­ed.”

Griffith said anyone wishing to donate phys­ical items should bring new, unwrapped toys only for ages 0-12.

“We have a collection week during the second week of December,” he said.

“Two guys take a truck and trailer and collect all the boxes. We bring all the toys to a warehouse where we count them and put them on shelves.

“On Dec. 19-21 and Dec. 23, the families come over to the ware­house, check in and are given 30 minutes in groups of 10-12 people to select toys for their children from what we have. My team makes sure they have the right amount of gifts, and we wish them a Merry Christmas.”

Griffith said it’s a “real pleasure” to see the par­ents come in and get to select toys for their chil­dren.

“They are so happy with what we have done, sometimes it brings a tear to their eye. That is a really good feeling.”

Griffith said the com­munity in northwest Ala­bama is “very generous” when it comes to donat­ing gifts to Toys for Tots.

He said 80% of the do­nated items come from Colbert and Lauderdale counties.

“They really help me out,” he said.

Griffith has helped the local Toys for Tots pro­gram expand in his five years overseeing the project.

In fact, he was honored by Sen. Tommy Tuber­ville as his Veteran of the Month on June 9 for his work with the Toys for Tots program.

“Curt put his military skills to use — partic­ularly getting involved with the local Marine Corps League and Toys for Tots charity. Thanks to Curt’s leadership, the program has expanded to five counties,” Tuberville said. “The program helps meet needs of children in the local community, es­pecially at … Christmas.

“Through Curt’s lead­ership, the children Toys for Tots serves has grown its reach from 200 to almost 2,000 children in just a few short years. He works around the clock each year to help remind children they are not alone.”