Toys for Tots: Wyoming group has no standing

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Toys for Tots: Wyoming group has no standing




By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 26, 2007 528 EDT

A Marine Toys for Tots Foundation official has ordered a Marine Corps League detachment in Wyoming to stop using the Toys for Tots name because its official standing with the foundation was cut off in 2005.
Brian Murphy, Toys for Tots vice president of operations, said he called and mailed a letter to Commandant Leo Sanchez of the Casper-based detachment this week but has yet to hear back from him.
The detachment had official standing as a Toys for Tots campaign site until 2005, Murphy said, adding that it was revoked after the group didn’t follow rules established by the Marine Corps and Sanchez did not respond to attempts to contact him. Murphy did not say what rules were broken.
“We want groups to help kids, but in this case, it was just wrong for them to be using the Toys for Tots name,” Murphy said.
Marine Corps Times quoted Sanchez in a story last week in which he said he was concerned about handing out toys after multiple recalls of about 10 million toys by major toymakers, including Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary.
League members in Casper have since posted fliers encouraging people to make financial donations to purchase gift certificates for children instead of making toy donations.
However, Murphy said that the Toys for Tots Foundation is confident it will be able to pick out all recalled toys and will not replace toys with gift certificates.
“Gift certificates are too easily transferred for items other than gifts for the children who need them,” he said. “It’s kind of like handing out cash.”
Toys for Tots does accept monetary donations, but it uses the funds to buy gifts for children to supplement donated toys and ensure each child receives an appropriate gift, said Bill Grein, the foundation’s vice president for marketing and development.
“When people buy toys, they frequently buy for children ages four to 10,” he said. “There are still a lot of pre-teens and teens that need to be remembered. Dollar donations help us to buy for that age group.”
Toys for Tots has recognized 607 groups as official campaign sites this year, Murphy said. The foundation provides official groups with promotional items, the right to use the Toys for Toys name and logo, and $5,000 worth of supplemental toys to be given to older children.
Sanchez did not return calls for comment by Tuesday afternoon.



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