Toys for Tots 2010

This year hasn't been as eventful for me in the Toys for Tot area, mainly because I have this huge pregnant belly that has really limited my ability to help. I have been able to help a little, and I got to go shopping with them once....which was super fun!!

Last year I got to go on one of the huge shopping trips that the Marines did for Toys for Tots. We had to be there at like 4 or 5 in the morning, and it was so much fun. We took a medium size box truck (like the type you use to move with) and met up with the Marine Corps League in Brentwood, Ca. We were all assigned an age group to shop for and I volunteered to shop for the baby items.....(little did I know we would be expecting the next year. lol) We shopped for a few hours filling every shopping cart we possibly could.
Once we spent about $20,000.00 in donations on the toys..... We loaded up all the toys and put them in the back of the box truck to take back to the shop.
Once we got back to the shop it was all offloaded and sorted into individual bins separated by ages and if it was a boy or girl toy. Then pallets and huge pumpkin boxes are brought into the middle of the warehouse and orders are filled and then taken to a waiting area for pick-up by the company that placed it.

So this year I wasn't able to be as involved....meaning I couldn't help out everyday. But I was able to make it to the shop a few times and help sort toys, or fill orders. It was fun working with the Marine Corps League again. They all know who Chuck and I are, and so they were all concerned about me helping and being pregnant. It was kind of funny. A few of the older guys have got in the habit of calling me Mama now. lol
So here are a few pics from this year that I took while helping out. These are from last week.



And then here are a few pics of what it all looks like after filling what I believe is the last of the orders today.


As you can see they were cleaned out. It is hard to believe that all those toys that were overflowing in the other pictures are now gone. But when there are enough volunteers, they can really fill all the orders in a hurry, and get things moving.
So here is a photo of what we hope is happening from all the hard work that our Marines and Volunteers put into Toys for Tots each year!

So I just wanted to say Thank You to everyone who helped out this year. Whether it was volunteering your time, your truck, or donating toys. Thank you for helping make Christmas a little brighter for kids in need.

XoXo-Andrea Carla