by John Dowd
For the first time in several years, Toys for Tots will be returning to the Bitterroot Valley, and the application deadline is approaching for families seeking assistance in getting toys for Christmas. The deadline is December 8, and distribution will be December 14 and 15 at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds.
Toys for Tots is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve program committed to getting toys to as many children in need as possible for the holidays. Founded in 1947, the organization’s been helping children for over 70 years.
Tammy Cunningham has volunteered with Toys for Tots in various ways since 1993, after her brother enlisted in the Marines when they were in high school. After helping collect toys that Christmas, Cunningham has stayed with the organization to continue to volunteer and help in various ways. For the last three years, Cunningham has been the Missoula Toys for Tots Coordinator. “I love Christmas and I love kids!” said Cunningham. To her, making a difference in the lives of children, especially over the holidays, is one of the most important things she does.
According to Cunningham, though a toy may not make a huge impact when it comes to serving many of the needs kids have, it can make a huge difference in a child’s life forever. Cunningham is extremely proud of what Toys for Tots does. “97% of every dollar goes to putting a toy in a child’s hands,” said Cunningham, who herself is an unpaid volunteer. According to her, not many other organizations can boast that. “It’s important to me that if you give to a charity you make sure it’s a good one,” added Cunningham.
However, the organization needs help to do what they do. “What we can do for the kids depends on the community,” said Cunningham. This year, Cunningham decided to bring the Bitterroot Valley program back, after she recently moved to Corvallis. Cunningham said that she wanted to give back to the community where she lives. She also continues to be the coordinator for Missoula County, as both Missoula and Ravalli Counties are run under the same umbrella. However, each county has their own toy collection and distribution.
She explained that there are many families in the Ravalli County area that could benefit from the toy drive, but may not be aware of everything that Toys for Tots does. One of the major issues facing the Bitterroot Valley is that there are not a lot of stores where donation boxes can be placed. This is mainly because of the lack of toy stores in the area where people can go, see a Toys for Tots collection box and get the idea there, on location, to donate. Without as many toy donations, interested folks can also donate monetarily to Toys for Tots to help make up the difference. Cunningham said that every dollar donated in the Bitterroot stays in the Bitterroot, and the money goes to offset the low toy numbers by buying more toys for age groups that receive lower toy donation numbers.
Another program Cunningham is bringing to the Bitterroot is one that utilizes leftover toys. Without a lot of storage available to Toys for Tots, as the program is all-volunteer, many of the toys need to be given away immediately. Some of these options include Toys for Tots working with fire departments to give out toys to children of burned or destroyed homes, or to re-homed and foster kids.
“Every year can be a little different,” said Cunningham. They cannot predict how many extra toys, if any, they can get. The organization also works to keep those toys in the county in which they were donated, making Toys for Tots a great way to ensure donations stay local. Interested parties can contact Cunningham with the information at the end of this article for questions about some of these extra programs.
Cunningham is excited for this year’s drive and wanted to extend a huge thank you to the Stevensville American Legion for doing a lot to make the 2023 drive happen. Members are helping with toy collection, distribution and have sponsored a portion of toy storage fees. “I would like to give them a huge shoutout!” said Cunningham.
Cunningham and Toys for Tots are also looking for more volunteers, not only for distribution but to help take care of the volunteers during the distribution days.
Interested parties can contact Cunningham through the email missoula.mt@toysfortots.org, by calling 406-544-9021, or by going online to Missoula/mt.toysfortots.org.