Toys for Tots program local coordinator Steve Lindsey and Marine Corp Sgt. Jonathan Schulte were recent guests of the Quincy Exchange Club.  According to Mr. Lindsey, a retired USMC veteran, the Toys for Tots program got its start in Los Angeles in 1947 when a Marine Corps Major’s wife made a Raggedy Ann Doll and she asked her husband to give it to someone but there wasn’t anyone to give it to. From that came the birth of the program which established a Toys for Tots Foundation in 1948.

The Toys for Tots train logo was designed by Missouri native Walt Disney. Over the last 66 years the program has given away 469 million toys to some 260 million children.  Locally in 2012, over 10-thousand toys were given away with the $14,000 raised to buy them.

100% of the donations stay in the local area which encompasses Adams, Hancock, Brown and Pike Counties in Illinois and Marion, Lewis and Ralls Counties in Missouri.  The Missouri counties are distributed under the direction of the Douglas Community Center through the Toys for Tots program.

The storage location for the toys is the old Motorola Building in Quincy with the collection dates set for November 13 through December 16.  The Toys for Tots program only accepts new toys and they will be collecting toys during this Saturday’s Veteran’s Parade. They will also be holding a breakfast with Santa at Applebee’s in Quincy from 8 to 10 on December 7.

Volunteers and donations are always needed for the program as well and if interested contact Steve Lindsey at 653-1803.

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