December 22, 2005

Toys for Tots - A Birthday Wish

New Castle, PA - For Jameson employee Gary Ferencik, there is nothing more magical at Christmas time than a child’s smile. That’s why for his 50^th birthday, Gary wanted the only gifts he received to be donations for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots.

The toy celebration occurred on September 24^th at the Ferencik’s residence in Sharpsville.  About 50 guests were in attendance throughout the evening.  Gary’s wife, Jeraldine, organized the party for him.  Gary told his wife that he did not want gifts for himself, but said that if guests wished to bring a present, they should bring an unwrapped toy to be donated to Toys for Tots. “At 50, you’re old enough to buy whatever you want or need,” said Gary.

Christmas has always been Gary’s favorite holiday.  When he began to think about the events of the past year, such as Hurricane Katrina, Gary realized that many kids are going to be in need this holiday.  A total of 80 toys were received.  Many guests brought two gifts, one for a boy and one for a girl.                                       

Most of those in attendance loved the idea of donating toys.  Gary feels that it brings out the best in people when they get a chance to help people in need, especially children.  He encourages others to use the idea for their own gift-giving events.

Toys for Tots is a not-for-profit charity organization of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve that began in 1947 in Los Angeles, California.  According to the official Toys for Tots website at www.ToysForTots.org, over the past 57 years, the organization has collected over 332.5 million toys for 158.7 million children.

Gary had difficulty getting into contact with local Toys for Tots representatives.  He brought the 80 donated gifts to Jameson’s North Campus and placed them in the donation box there.

“As long as the children get them, that’s all that I care about,” said Gary.   Gary has been employed by Jameson for 19 years.