Page 21 - MidWeek - Nov 17, 2021

Marines Get Ready For A ‘Toy’-ous Season
FROM PAGE 16
noting he has seven more months in Hawai‘i before his next rotation. “During COVID, it was definitely extremely challenging. All I wanted to do was reach out to as many children that I could, even though I was being restricted by a lot of things. I was quarantined for almost 28 days of the cam- paign because I was still traveling and doing my job for the Marine Corps.
NOVEMBER 17, 2021 MIDWEEK 21
Help bring joy to disadvantaged keiki this holiday season by dropping off new, unwrapped toys by Dec. 17 at any of the collection sites below. Local nonprofits and families experiencing hardship can submit a toy request form at kaneohe-bay-hi.toysfortots.org by Dec. 10 (late requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis). Upon approval, they will then be assigned a distribution event Dec. 19-22 to pick up their toys.
HONOLULU FEDERAL CREDIT UNION HOCU
91-1717B Fort Weaver Road, ‘Ewa Beach 2305 S. Beretania St., Honolulu
3600 Aolele St., Honolulu (Starting Nov. 22.)
KAPILINA BEACH HOMES
5100 Iroquois Ave., ‘Ewa Beach (Starting Nov. 29)
WE GO NOTARY
3049 Ualena St. Suite 314, Honolulu
COFFMAN ENGINEERS, INC.
745 Fort St. Ste. 400, Honolulu
GRAINGER SUPPLY
2833 Paa St., Honolulu
LACOSTE
1450 Ala Moana Blvd. Ste. 3209, Honolulu
94-790 Lumi‘aina St. Ste. 313, Waipahu
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
1951 East West Road, Honolulu
HONOLULU NAVY LEAGUE
47 Arizona Memorial Drive, Honolulu
HAWAI‘I MORTGAGE EXPERTS
6700 Kalaniana‘ole Hwy. Ste. 215, Honolulu
(Starting Dec. 13)
NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
4256 Radford Drive, Honolulu 95-1830 Meheula Pkwy. Ste. C-7, Mililani
SALT LAKE SHOPPING CENTER
848 Ala Liliko‘i St., Honolulu (Participating stores)
ISLANDS HOSPICE
820 Mililani St. No. 400, Honolulu
MARI’S GARDEN
94-415 Makapipipi St., Mililani
LUCKY STRIKE SOCIAL
1450 Ala Moana Blvd. No. 3260, Honolulu
THE ARMCHAIR ADVENTURER
650 Iwilei Road No. 160, Honolulu
NAVY EXCHANGE HAWAI‘I
4725 Bougainville Drive Bldg. 631, Honolulu
ROYAL HAWAIIAN MOVERS
3017 Ualena St., Honolulu
LE JARDIN ACADEMY
917 Kalaniana‘ole Hwy., Kailua (Starting Nov. 22)
GOODYEAR AUTO SERVICE CENTER
46-047 Kamehameha Hwy., Kāne‘ohe
BUFFALO WILD WINGS
46-056 Kamehameha Hwy., Kāne‘ohe
KAPOLEI LOFTS
761 Wākea St., Kapolei
RYDER SYSTEM
91-130 Kalaeloa Blvd., Kapolei
THE COCONUT PLANTATION
92-1070 ‘Ōlani St., Kapolei
‘ILIMA AT LEIHANO SENIOR LIVING 739 Leihano St., Kapolei
MILILANI SHOPPING CENTER
95-221 Kīpapa Drive, Mililani (Participating stores)
PEARL HIGHLANDS CENTER
1000 Kamehameha Hwy., Pearl City (Participating stores, starting Dec. 1)
ISLAND PREPAREDNESS GROUP
87-105 Liliana St., Wai‘anae
ITRAMPOLINE HAWAI‘I
94-157 Leoleo St., Waipahu
OASIS TOWNHOMES
94-207 Waipahu St., Waipahu
SALON 333
94-333 Waipahu Depot St., Waipahu
WALGREENS
Multiple locations throughout O‘ahu
“It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve done.”
Like Santa’s elves, Ibarra also has a dedicated team of volunteers in the Toys for Tots shop. Assisting him this year are Sgt. Nathan Stewart and wife Clairece, along with 1st Sgt. Jeremy Bland and wife Christina. The program also receives help from social welfare and community agencies, church groups, businesses and more.
Volunteers Clairece Stewart and Christina Bland sort through toys by age and gender in preparation for present distribution this Christmas season.
“Clairece is in the ware- house sorting and counting the toys, coordinating the volunteers and getting col- lection boxes out,” notes Ibarra. “And Christina is helping with a lot of the re- quests for toys.
Founded in 1947, the first Toys for Tots was held in Los Angeles when Maj. Bill Hendricks and the Marines in his reserve unit collected 5,000 toys for children in need. Hendricks also worked as the director of public relations at Warner
In 1991, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation was established to help run and support the Marine Toys for Tots Program, and current- ly distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million children annually. In 2001, Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i
“A lot of people believe that the military bases or the Marines are the ones who benefit from this, but it’s nationwide and within our local communities. Do- nations collected here, stay here.”
Brothers Studios, and was friends with many celebri- ties who supported the inau- gural Toys for Tots program, including Walt Disney, who designed the first Toys for Tots poster that included the iconic miniature three- car train logo.
Ibarra. “There were a lot of times growing up that I didn’t have toys. My mom was going through some hard times, and at that time (I was maybe 8 to 11 years old), I was at school and they selected a couple of students that were going through some hardship. They would take us to this huge party with a combina- tion of different schools in the district, and they would call us up on stage and hand us our gifts. I still remem- ber that skateboard that they gave me, and I got a basket- ball.
A stuffed dog (above) and an assortment of other toys (inset) will soon be distributed to nonprofits and families experiencing hardship.
“I remember being part of a similar program when I was growing up,” shares
Learn more online at kaneohe-bay-hi.toysfortots. org
at Kāne‘ohe Bay officially launched a local campaign, making this year its 20th an- niversary.
“I think these programs (like Toys for Tots) are very important. These gifts pro- vide a memory for a life- time. I know it did for me. I believe if we can provide that type of kindness to our local children, they will grow to be better people and be able to give back that kindness and ultimately en- joy a great holiday season.”