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Toys for Tots program collects over 3,000 toys
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Posted on Dec 21 2018
An annual anonymous gift donation and distribution program was able to collect over 3,000 toys despite the state of calamity Super Typhoon Yutu wrought on Saipan and Tinian in late October 2018.
Toys for Tots coordinator Maj. Kenneth Ciara told Saipan Tribune yesterday that they were able to collect over 3,000 toys.
The program, which is coordinated by the U.S. Marine Corps along with the participation of the Saipan Young Professionals and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, collect new but unwrapped toys and distributes them across Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.
According to Ciara, about 300 toys were collected on Tinian and Rota, and that all toys would be distributed this weekend.
“We thought that we [wouldn’t be getting] enough [toys] because of the devastation of Typhoon Yutu,” Ciara said. “Due to all the good hearts we have here, we had a good outcome.”
Yesterday, they handed out some of the toys to the Salvation Army and the Maternal Child Health Bureau of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.
MCHB administrator Heather Pangelinan said the toys donated to the bureau would benefit almost 400 kids throughout the CNMI.
“We are just very grateful for the partnership with the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and their committee, the Saipan Young Professionals. We are very fortunate to have an organization like that in our community to give back and bring some holiday spirit to the many families we serve,” she told Saipan Tribune.
“We are very grateful also to the community members who took part and donated toys to make this event happen,” she added.
