The month of December marked the start of the Toys for Tots Campaign at the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Huntsville. The students, faculty, and staff took some time to show their gratitude and support for children in the community. The response was overwhelming! The campus pulled together and collected all their loose change to purchase new toys for the Toys for Tots Campaign. By the end of the drive, the collection box was overflowing with goodies for children in the community that would now be receiving gifts thanks to the generosity of those at the campus.
Toys for Tots was originally begun by the United States Marine Corps in 1995 and has grown exponentially over the past nearly 20 years. Although it was started as a Marine program, it has become a nationwide program that has distributed over 469 million toys to over 216 million children throughout the United States. According to their website, “the primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.”
Ross students were thrilled to contribute to such a worthy cause. While collecting, they also made the campus more festive by decorating the hallways and doors as a reminder to stay in the Christmas spirit. Over the course of the drive, they collected nearly $200 and were able to purchase many toys for both boys and girls including dolls, stuffed animals, board games, and more. The students reminisced about their own Christmases growing up, and one student commented, “Christmas is about giving, and no child should ever go without a present.” The entire campus looks forward to this new tradition and having the opportunity to continue to give to the less fortunate in their community in the future.
If you are interested in Toys for Tots and learning more about how you can help, visit their Facebook page or their website at http://www.toysfortots.org.