| USMC Toys for Tots Orlando |
Santa's Been! When my daughters, Dawn & Lisa, were children, their Mom and I always encouraged them to leave milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve. After they were sound asleep, we put out a batch of unwrapped toys around the tree...usually the things they wanted the most. Someone always drank the milk and ate the cookies (gee, who could that have been?). On Christmas morning we were usually awakened by Dawn & Lisa banging on our bedroom door hollering: "Santa's been! Santa's been!" . Each year Volunteers from Orlando's USS Haven along with many other Florida Star Trek Sci-Fi clubs abd groups, and our Delta Flyer Student Team of Millennium Middle School and Poinciana High School's FIRST Robotics Team have gathered at Orlando's WFTV Ch-9 to assist in Santa Saturday celebrations to meet and greet parents, children, and others who drop off toys for donation and share their Holiday Spirit. . Volunteer efforts of our Members, along with that of so many good-hearted folks in Florida, have ensured that thousands of Central Florida children, who would otherwise not have received much, are sure to be waking their parents on Christmas morning each year banging on their bedroom door while hollering "Santa's been! Santa's been!"
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. . Our Crew and Friends have been assisting WFTV and our local USMC Reserve with Santa Saturdays since 2005. In addition to hosting Koloring with Klingons play stations, we provided photo opps for visitors and fun for the kids. . When we were not entertaining the children, our staff was always busy unloading vehicles for Toy Donors dropping off their new unwrapped toys by the carload or truckload. . Our Members and our Students have personally donated over 3000 toys for distribution to children in need throughout Central Florida. While our efforts are only a small part of the hundreds of thousands of toys donated, our contribution and our commitment has always been significant. . THANKS to ALL for sharing your Spirit with our Community. . There is a great need in 2010 for toy donations this year, so Toys for Tots is reaching out to new venues. WFTV & K92 FM will be hosting a donation event at LIGHT UP UCF on Saturday Nov 27th, 11 am to 4 pm, and at CELEBRATION TOWN CENTER, Fl on Saturday, Dec 11th, 4 pm to 9 pm. There will be no Santa Saturdays at WFTV this year. WFTV's schedule is here: http://www.wftv.com/9familyconnection/25798250/detail.html . LIGHT UP UCF has become a fun Holiday tradition at the University of Central Florida. Here's the link with details: http://www.lightupucf.com/ . Although we will not be hosting Koloring with Klingons at either event, we do encourage toy donations. Please feel free to drop your toys off on either evening. If you arrive in costume, be prepared to hang out for photo opps, and assist the Marines if asked. . There will be another WFTV event sometime in December in Celebration, FL, hosted by Walt Disney World, mostly with Disney characters. I do not have any information on that event at this time. . We look forward to a great season as always. . Please enjoy these pics then click over to our YAHOO Group for more in our Photo Gallery  Click to join USSHaven . . See ya out there! |
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Over the 58 years of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 332.5 million toys to 158.7 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made U.S. Marines the unchallenged leaders in looking after needy children at Christmas. Over its 14 year life span, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supplemented local toy collections with more than 55.5 million toys valued at more than $284 million; plus has provided promotion and support materials valued at over $3.2 million Our Crew and Friends are proud to join this effort each year. Thanks to WFTV and Central Florida's Marine Corps Reserve for inviting us and THANKS to ALL our volunteers. |
