Toys for Tots Drive Lagging Behind Goal

The Toys for Tots drive, a popular Christmas charity, is having a tough time meeting its 1986 Orange County goal of collecting 25,000 toys for needy children, a U.S. Marine Corps spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Sgt. Barbara E. Omohundro said that last Monday’s deadline for collecting the toys had been extended until Friday because the U.S. Marine Reserves, which sponsors the drive, is far short of its goal.

As of Monday, only 9,000 toys had been donated, but the figure grew to 13,000 by Wednesday, Omohundro said.

She added that she was perplexed by the lack of response to Toys for Tots. Last year, the Marines set a goal of 20,000 toys and exceeded it by 1,000 items.

“It seems like a number of (other charitable) organizations are having problems, too,” she said. “I don’t understand it, but I hope it will improve.”

Toys for Tots has been run nationwide by the Marine Reserves for the past 39 years. Capt. Jay Nelson, a spokesman in Marine Reserves headquarters in New Orleans, said that the reserves’ 190 units collected 5.9 million toys last year.

He said, howeve, that the Marines could not determine whether other units were experiencing the same problems as the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station reservists.

“Normally, units don’t set a goal. They just go out and collect as much as possible,” Nelson said. “That’s a local decision. If we do better or worse than last year nationwide, I won’t be able to tell until it’s all over.

“However, I’ve gotten no indications that collections are falling short around the country. That doesn’t seem to be a trend nationwide,” he added.

Omohundro said the local Marines would push hard during the last two days of the extended drive to at least try to reach 20,000 toys, a total that still would be 20% short of this year’s goal.

“We’ll stay hopeful. Either way, we’ll be very busy this weekend distributing the toys,” she said.

The Orange County service organizations and churches listed above are among those accepting food, toys or cash donations during the holiday season. Some are giving away Christmas baskets and need more donations to meet the growing demand.