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This Nov. 16, 2020, photo shows Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Bill Cox as he unloads bags of stuffed animal toys to be given to children during last year’s Toys for Tots campaign. Registration for the 2021 campaign is underway and will end Nov. 18.

There’s nothing like a shiny, new toy for Christmas.

But for some families, toys are a luxury they just can’t afford without sacrificing essential needs.

In 2020, the Toys for Tots program distributed 11,887 toys to 2,446 local children. Bill Cox, Wiregrass Toys for Tots coordinator, said the Marine Corps League expects to provide gifts for as many children this year.

“They want every child to have that joy of Christmas of having a toy,” Cox said. “If a family is in need, that’s something we strive to do is give that family and that child that joy of Christmas opening those presents.”

Toys for Tots is a mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. New, unwrapped toys are collected and then distributed as Christmas gifts for children who may not otherwise receive gifts.

Registration is underway for the 15th annual Wiregrass Toys for Tots, organized through the Marine Corps League Wiregrass Detachment. The Marine Corps League partners with 15 local service organizations.

Residents of Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties can register children up to age 12 for Toys for Tots. Dial 2-1-1 or 1-888-421-1266 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a Wiregrass 2-1-1 call specialist will provide information on qualifications and direct families to the closest participating agency.

Registration will end Thursday, Nov. 18. There will be no make-up dates after registration has completed.

Community partners serving as drop-off sites collect toys, which the Marine Corps League picks up to fulfill the Christmas gift lists for participating children. The donated gifts are distributed to families in time for Christmas.

Donation boxes will start going up in local communities this week, Cox said.

“We’ve already gotten quite a few of them out in the Enterprise area, and we’re starting this week to get them in the Dothan area,” he said. “… Last year, we had over 100 boxes out throughout the community, and we did a few toy drives.”

The community, he said, is always very generous.

To donate to this year’s Toys for Tots program or be a drop-off location for donated new toys, visit thewiregrass.toysfortots.org and click on “Get Involved/Volunteer” or email dothan.al@toysfortots.org.

Cox recommended spending less than $20 so that you can donate multiple toys. If there are enough toys donated, children will get more than one toy – maybe as many as four of five toys. Focusing on older age groups can also help since options on store shelves are typically plentiful for younger children.

“Older children in the 10 to 12 range are hard to buy for,” Cox said.

Peggy Ussery is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at aussery@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7963. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com.

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This Nov. 16, 2020, photo shows Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Bill Cox as he unloads bags of stuffed animal toys to be given to children during last year’s Toys for Tots campaign. Registration for the 2021 campaign is underway and will end Nov. 18.

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