For members of American Legion’s annual Toys for Tots campaign, the holiday season is all about camaraderie and community, said Meghann Baca, the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation coordinator for La Plata County.
She said American Legion’s and Marine Corps’ mission with Toys for Tots is to provide “tangible items of hope” on the basis that every child deserves a toy and every family deserves to be seen and heard.
The La Plata County Toys for Tots campaign is seeking donations ahead of its Toys for Tots distribution the week of Christmas. Families who are seeking toys have until Sunday to sign up.
Those looking to donate toys have nearly 50 drop-off locations to choose from in Durango and La Plata County, including in Bayfield, Ignacio, Vallecito, Hesperus and Gem Village.
About 200 families have already signed up to receive donations, an impressive number with several days to go until the registry closes, Baca said. Toys will be distributed between noon and 3 p.m. Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 at the American Legion in Durango, where visitors can treat themselves to refreshments and mingle with Santa Claus while they shop.
She added La Plata County Toys for Tots also accepts monetary donations, and toys that were not claimed by the end of the distribution period will be donated to Manna soup kitchen and she’s reached out to other area nonprofits about donating surplus toys to them as well. On Christmas Eve, she plans to drive to the Sunrise Youth Shelter in Towaoc to deliver some toys to people there.
On Dec. 18, the American Legion is hosting an invitation-only holiday party for foster children, who will receive toys of their own.
In 2023, Toys for Tots donated 2,235 toys and supported 575 children in La Plata County, according to the campaign website.
Nationwide, Toys for Tots distributed 25.5 million toys to 10.3 million economically disadvantaged children, Baca added.
She said the Toys for Tots program collectively spends 97% of monetary donations on the program and 3% on overhead expenses.
Toys for Tots is exhilarating for families and volunteers alike, she said.
“You see the true heart and soul of family and that camaraderie,” she said. “... A lot of people are just so grateful.”
Household income isn’t a factor when it comes to Toys for Tots. Baca’s seen families roll up in Cadillacs looking for toys for their children. She said for all she knows, they have just enough cash to pay their monthly bills, or they may be living in their car.
“I work with people experiencing homelessness, especially youth, and so I get it, hanging onto what you have,” she said. “And so I'm just here to be a support.”
This year marks the fourth annual Toys for Tots campaign focused on gifting toys to children in La Plata County specifically, she said. Prior to 2020, the campaign worked with Durango Harley-Davidson to gather donations, but all the donations were taken to Farmington for distribution.
Baca said she hopes to expand the Toys for Tots campaign into Archuleta, Dolores, Montezuma and San Juan counties next year.
The Toys for Tots campaign also serves Indigenous communities, but currently, the Navajo Nation is the only regional tribe recognized by the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program, she said. She is working with a lieutenant stationed in California to recognize the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes.
The benefit of being recognized is the Marine Corps will pay for toys and merchandise to be distributed on reservation lands, she said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
