Several organizations can help a child receive a toy at Christmas.
The Christmas season is a time to remember those families that may not be able to give their children toys on Christmas morning. In your community, you can join a church or civic group that collects toys and distributes toys to needy families at Christmas. There are also several national programs that offer free toys to kids for the holidays.
Toys for Tots
The Toys for Tots program is one of the more well-known national toy charity programs. The Toys for Tots program was started in 1947 by United States Marine Major Bill Hendricks in Los Angeles, California. The first toy the Major collected was a handmade doll, and he went on to collect a total of 5,000 toys for needy children in the Los Angeles area that Christmas. The idea quickly caught on an spread with the help of celebrities such as Walt Disney, who designed the Toys for Tots logo. In 1991, the United States Congress officially recognized the Toys for Tots program and allowed the Marine Corps to run the program. Toys for Tots has collection and distribution networks in all 50 states.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army Christmas Charity program is best recognized by the red kettle and bell-ringers seen all over the country at Christmastime. The money collected by the Salvation Army goes to supplying toys for needy children along with food and other necessary items to families. The Red Kettle program was started in 1891 by Salvation Army founder William Booth as a way to collect money for the needs of needy families in the San Francisco area. The Salvation Army has offices, and red kettles at Christmastime, all over the world. The Salvation Army has recently started the Angel Tree program in some communities, and plans on offering it nationwide in 2010. Needy children are assigned a tag that has their Christmas wish list, and those tags (minus the children's names) are hung on trees located outside department stores during the Christmas season. A person chooses a tag, buys as many of the toys and gifts as they can and then gives the gifts to the Salvation Army to be given to the child.
Angel Tree
The Prison Fellowship started their Angel Tree Christmas toy program in 1983. The program gives free Christmas toys to the children of parents who are in prison. It also reaches out to the families of people in prison to offer counseling and basic needs such as food and clothing. The Angel Tree concept of the Prison Fellowship is the same as the Salvation Army. Prisoners put their child's name on an angel ornament, and then the child's Christmas wish list is also added. The ornaments are hung on a tree outside shopping centers on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the shoppers are asked to choose an ornament and purchase the items listed on it. The items are given to the Prison Fellowship and distributed to the prisoners' children.
Tags: Salvation Army, Toys Tots, Angel Tree, Prison Fellowship, Tots program, toys needy