Toys 4 Tots program gets 100 toys in month’s time

The Toys 4 Tots donation program on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota has already amassed over 100 toys since being officially launched last month.

During the weekly Rotary Club of Saipan meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan Giovanni’s Restaurant yesterday, Tim Patrick, Marine Corps Guam public affairs officer, said the Toys 4 Tots program in the Northern Mariana Islands is the farthest extension of the program since it got started in 1947.

“It’s the farthest extent the program has reached all the way from its headquarters in Louisiana,” said Patrick.

The program was launched last month during a Chamber of Commerce meeting. The Saipan Young Professionals and the Chamber are leading the local initiative.

Since the start, the program has proved to be very popular, accumulating almost 600 million toys in total that are given to children who need them most.

Donors give unwrapped brand-new toys that are then given to children come Christmas. The Toys 4 Tots program is an initiative of the U.S. Marine Corps.

When asked how the program got started in the CNMI, Patrick said the decision was made after a Marine Corps mission on Saipan following the devastation of Typhoon Soudelor.

“Soudelor was a big part of us looking into the community and recognizing Saipan is a ripe environment for the Toys 4 Tots program through the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit during that time,” said Patrick.

After the expedition mission on Saipan and close observation of its community, the Marine Corps was sure that the program would prosper.

“The fact is when you see a community come together and they can help provide that hope to a family that can be having some difficult times during the holiday season, that’s really where the goodness of the program comes from,” said Patrick.

According to Patrick, although there are more important resources that can be donated and are more essential for survival than toys, it is what the toys represent for the children. “Hope, everybody needs hope and toys for young children really represent a big part of that,” said Patrick.

According to Patrick, he and the U.S. Marine Corps Guam are very proud to be a part of this effort that’s led by the Saipan Young Professionals and the Chamber of Commerce. “They’re really leading the way,” he said.

For interested donors, a list of donation spots are available for viewing on the Saipan Chamber of Commerce website.