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Toys for Tots has 'adapted and overcome' COVID-19 challenges during Christmas season

2020-12-21 | 🔗
Toys for Tots President and CEO Lt. Gen. Jim Laster gives an update on toy collection and donation efforts on 'Fox & Friends.'
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Thanks PETE, the Marine corps is on a mission to spread cheer to kids in need this Christmas season, but they need our help and gathering donations for toys for tots amid the pandemic here to share how we can help toys for tots President and CEO Lt General Jim Lasseter Good Morning general. Thank you so much for joining us today, well good morning to you and thank you so much for having me on your show. In fact, if I could say, the exposure that Fox has given us over the past month has just been tremendous and its helped significantly with donation as well as toy collection. So we are very grateful. Thank you. Thank you. So much tell us how the pandemic has shaped donations and especially the shift to online shopping, how that has affected people in need and people giving well. We, of course, were very concerned about it and we came up with different models to share with our coordinators nationwide,
the one that seems to be working. The best is the drive, thru distribution model. In fact, I was in Prince Georges County Maryland on Saturday watching a drive, thru distribution model that supported fifteen thousand children in one day, so that may be even a concept that we look at even when the pandemic is over. You know to use a marine term. We have adapted and overcome the situation. We are maneuvering and we will accomplish the mission and its my understanding that, because people have shifted to online shopping during the pandemic, theyre not seeing physical, brick and mortar and the stands that you used to have in the past. So where can viewers go? You talked about the drive up distribution centers. Where can they go online to help and support your mission also just go to first of all go to the local website wherever
they are, but the fallback be to our national website, which is toysfortots dot. Org and Sir tell us about the changes that youve seen in the last ten months since the pandemic started. What are your greatest challenge s? What changes have you seen for those kids in need and for those donating well going back a few months ago? I think everyone knows toys for tots is a Christmastime charity, but, as the ceo, I have been looking for ways to expand that support to less fortunate children and during the pandemic we in fact donated or actually distributed, two million toys, books and games to children just to bring some normalcy back into their lives and to lessen their anxiety. We also have a literacy program that were partnered with ups store on and weve been providing books to less fortunate children, especially
to title I schools and after this Christmas campaign my intent is to continue support to less fortunate children, both by our literacy program, as well as at times of natural disasters. I think that we have a role in emotional support of children general. Thank you for your service and bless you for the work that toys for tots does the website viewers is Toysfor, T Ots, DOT, org. Merry Christmas to you, sir.
Transcript generated on 2020-12-21.