KENNEWICK, Wash. – The Toys for Tots campaign in the Tri Cities concluded its annual toy drive at the Benton County Fairgrounds. This three-day event encouraged the community to donate new unused toys to those in need.
Last year, the local chapter distributed more than 16,000 toys, supporting over 4,600 children.
Glen Carter, who has volunteered with the National Marine Toys for Tots Tri Cities chapter for about 25 years, shared his thoughts on the initiative.
“Why wouldn’t anybody want to give toys to children?” Carter asked.
Carter explained that volunteering was initially mandatory due to his involvement in the Marine Corps, but he quickly found a sense of purpose in the work.
“I fell in love with it immediately,” Carter said. “And I’ve learned over the years that by helping families in need, it instills a sense of community. And generates hope for the kids. So that makes me feel like I’m a part of the community. And I’m helping in some small.”
Carter, who has led the Tri Cities chapter for 15 years, noted that this year focused on literacy and health. Each family received a sports ball, and the chapter improved in nearly every statistic compared to last year.
“The site was open for three days, and we had over 1500 applications, which is about 300 more than we did last year,” Carter said. “And this year we hit just about 1400 families, which is 200 more than we had last year. That’s about 4500 children; that’s about 35,000 toys. And a median value of $10. A toy is $350,000 that we had to either donate, generate, or just go out and purchase to get this done. And we were able to give all the kids the toys that we wanted to give out.”
Carter emphasized the importance of expanding the program’s reach.
“Toys for Tots Nationals says that we’re missing about 11 million children a year who are not getting help,” Carter said. “And so, they’re always pushing us to get to grow our campaign, get more kids involved, get more families, help.”
The Toys for Tots campaign continue to strive for growth and reach, aiming to provide toys and hope to as many children as possible.
