Toys For Tots Recap

Since 1947, The Walt Disney Company has supported the Marine Toys for Tots Program to spread a little holiday magic for children and their families during the holiday season. Partners was proud to support this great cause by making it easy for our Members and cast members to give back and sprinkle a bit of magic of their own.

Partners Members and cast in California and Florida donated by dropping off a toy at a local branch, volunteering time to help unpack, sort, and distribute thousands of toys, and offering cash donations remotely across the United States.

The Florida Partners branches collected 104 toys and other gift items at I-Drive, Lake Buena Vista, and Disney University.

In California, Partners branches collected 138 presents at Team Disney Anaheim, Katella, Downtown Anaheim, Harbor Pointe, Buena Vista Plaza, Grand Central Creative Campus, and Walt Disney Studios.

For over 75 years, Disney has supported Toys for Tots to bring toys to millions of children in need during the holiday season and the tradition continues with the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive each year.

According to the Toys for Tots website, Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks and his wife, Diane, started Toys for Tots in 1947. Diane handcrafted a few dolls and asked Bill to deliver them to an agency that supports children in need. When Bill reported back to his wife that he could not find such an organization, she instructed him to “start one!” Maj Hendricks and the Marines in his reserve unit in Los Angeles, California, collected and distributed 5,000 toys.

Seeing such successful community engagement in 1947, the Commandant directed all Marine Reserve Sites to implement a Toys for Tots campaign transforming it into a national community action program in 1948.

Bill Hendrick’s civilian job was Director of Public Relations at Warner Brothers Studios. As a personal friend and favor to Bill, Walt Disney designed the first Toys for Tots poster which included a miniature three-car train that was subsequently adopted as the Toys for Tots logo and is still in use today.

Since 1947, Toys for Tots Marines and volunteers have distributed 627 million toys to over 281 million children. Partners is proud to support this initiative every year, sharing a little holiday magic with children in need.