Update: Our final count for collected toys this year is 145 toys that will go to ABQ kids this year. This is an improvement over our first year when we collected 104 toys. Also, our friends in the 501st Legion have expressed some interest in assisting us with our Toys for Tots collection next year, so we should be able to improve our total again!
Over the Black Friday weekend, the crew of the White Sands spent a total of 15 hours braving the elements to collect new toys for children in Albuquerque. This year marked the ship’s second partnership with the US Marine Corps and their Toys for Tots program, as well as the second year of teaming up with Ettin Games ABQ to allow the ship somewhere to take in the collections.
Ettin Games had a box inside the store for nearly a month, and the collection went very well since the Albuquerque Journal mentioned us for the second year in a row, this time giving us more column space and listing us as something to do in ABQ. (Pictures with us in uniform are always available at this type of event.)
As of the writing of this report, we have collected 133 toys for ABQ kids this year. This is an improvement over our first year when we collected 104 toys. There may be more donations, though; the box at Ettin Games will be picked up on December 1st, and some members may bring donations to the meeting on December 2nd, so we’ll have a final count then.
As always, the crew of the White Sands is delighted to help those less fortunate than ourselves, and there’s no better way of helping than making sure kids have a new toy for the holidays.