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Tinian, Rota kids get toys
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- Tinian Youth Center display toys for children to choose moments later. (Contributed Photo)
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- Rota Mayor Efraim Atalig, Star Marianas Air president Shaun Christian, Lt. Col. Marcus Reynolds, and Aubry M. Hocog special assistant for Programs and Grants, display toys delivered to Rota. (Contributed Photo)
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- Star Marianas Air president Shaun Christian, middle, stands with Marines from Marine Corps Activity Guam with some of the hundreds of toys he delivered from Guam to Tinian. (Contributed Photo)
Thanks to the generosity of Star Marianas Air and the collective efforts of the Tinian and Rota mayors’ offices, hundreds of new toys from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves’ Toys for Tots Program were delivered to Tinian on Dec. 20 and to Rota on Dec. 21.
Star Marianas Air president Shaun Christian took time to fly the toys from Guam to Tinian on Wednesday and then again from Guam to Rota the following day.
“I’ve been interested in this program since I was a boy when I was in a Toys for Tots commercial. It feels like I’m Santa’s helper today,” he said.
On Tinian, members of the Tinian Youth Center and the mayor’s office were on hand to collect the toys at the airport, organize them at the Teen Youth Center, and display them for children to choose.
“You can see that TYC put a lot of work into putting this together for the community,” said Gunnery Sgt. Donald McClester, Toys for Tots coordinator for the CNMI. “But it’s the smiles on the kids’ faces that make everything worth it.”
On Rota, hundreds of toys were also made available to boys and girls thanks to the coordination between the Rota Mayor’s Office, Star Marianas Air, and the U.S. Marines.
“Toys for Tots has been on Guam for nine years and thanks to the community leadership on Tinian, we delivered there for three years now, but this is the first time we have been able to get to Rota,” said Capt. Nathan Adams, Guam’s Toys for Tots coordinator.
Due in large part to the Guam Chamber of Commerce, the Toys for Tots Program has gained the support of dozens of area retailers, architectural firms, Guam public schools, real estate firms, automobile dealers, banks, restaurants, civic organizations and numerous members of the general public. The donated dolls, games, sports equipment, books, and stocking stuffers were collected on Guam from Oct. 1 to Dec. 14.
Adams expressed his appreciation to the people and organizations who volunteered to make this year’s campaign an outstanding success. “The generous support of our community makes the Toys for Tots program one of the most successful community events in the area.”
To see some of the individual contributors to this year’s campaign visit the Marine Corps Activity Guam Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/USMCGuam. (PR)
