Toys for Tots can make Christmas happier

The Marine Corps League St. Mary Detachment Toys for Tots program is collecting toys to distribute to the families of less fortunate children throughout the parish Dec. 19.
Toys for Tots is a campaign that collects new, unwrapped toys October through December each year.
There are over 60 Toys for Tots box donation locations parishwide. East St. Mary Parish boxes can be found in Amelia, Bayou Vista, Berwick, Morgan City and Patterson.
Common business box donation drop-offs in the Tri-City area are Dollar General, Family Dollar, Patterson State Bank, M C Bank, Walmart, and CVS.
The Toys for Tots program serves around 1,500 to 1,800 children in St. Mary Parish, issuing over $50,000 worth of toys.
Families must complete Toys for Tots program applications in order to be considered as a toy recipient. Applications can be completed at St. Mary Outreach, 608 First St. in Morgan City.
In addition to St. Mary Outreach, west end parish residents complete applications at the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce office.
This week, St. Mary Outreach and Chamber of Commerce are not processing applications due to a food giveaway event. The application process will resume Monday.
Once applications are approved by authorizing organizations, the Marine Corps League receives the child’s name and assembles toys for him or her.
Penny Galloway and Connie Shepherd are reliable helpers, bagging and sorting toys in the St. Mary toy warehouse.
“They’re in here helping all the time,” said Bill Goessl, Marine Corps League, St. Mary Detachment Toys for Tots coordinator.
The toys are distributed unwrapped. It is the parent’s responsibility to wrap the gifts.
After the Marine Corps League distributes toys here, leftover toys are donated to neighboring Assumption Parish to help them out, Goessl said.
“We’re a little bit stronger in this parish than they are in Assumption Parish,” Goessl said. “If we can afford to, we’re going to help our neighbors out.”
Local Toys for Tots campaign coordinators host various activities throughout the year designed to increase interest and generate toys and monetary donations.
The Marine Corps Band is having a concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
Admission to the concert is free, however, there is a suggested donation fee of a new unwrapped toy.
Donating money locally is the most direct way children in St. Mary Parish can benefit from the program.
Financial contributions should be made payable to Marine Corps League and include in the memo section Toys for Tots. The mailing address is Marine Corps League, St. Mary Detachment, P.O. Box 1383, Morgan City, 70380.
For more information about Toys for Tots donations and box locations, contact Goessl at 985-384-3446.
As for why Goessl chooses to coordinate the Toys for Tots program each year, he simply states, “It’s all about giving back.”