Toys for Tots volunteers were busy at work Monday morning unloading boxes and boxes of toys that were collected at the marathon weekend drive and it was one for the record books.
"We adapted, we overcame and the valley came out for us, broke both records. The toy record by what, 1500 toys we broke it, broke the money record by $2,000. Incredible," Toys for Tots Organizer Staff Sgt. William Cardinal said.
Toys for Tots organizer Cardinal is still overwhelmed after witnessing the central valley's generosity.
Marathon weekend kicked off Friday morning and although the rain was persistent, people still came out to donate and help make Christmas memorable for Valley children who might otherwise not get a gift.
"They will come out and step up for their neighbors and that is incredible and that's what's America's about," Cardinal said.
In total, the community donated nearly 9 thousand toys and nearly 38 thousand dollars. Now, volunteers can organize the donations and the Marines will turn that cash into box loads of toys.
"So I can get on the phone with those distributing companies and I can stretch those dollars. It's time for me to get out there and start working the best deals that I can to get those toys in," Cardinal said.
Although the top secret warehouse houses thousands of toys, the Marines say they still need your help.
"But we still have a long way to go, 112,000 toys is the goal and I'm still not there. I've got about 40,000 in the warehouse from the rough numbers I've ran in my head. Still a long way to go, still a lot of events, still a lot of time for people to come out to help me, help the children of the Valley," Cardinal said.
With 20 plus days until Christmas, Marines are hoping the community will help them in their cause: a Christmas for every child.
There is still time to donate an unwrapped toy or make a check or cash donation.
