Toys for Tots

On Saturday, December 3, in the Little Rock’s Rivermarket, the World Famous Rev Room will be hosting the 3rd Annual Toys for Tots Christmas Party featuring Kingsdown. This is an all age show. Last year the turnout and the toy donations were amazing. We hope to do even better this year. Joining Kingsdown on the stage this year will be Little Rock favorites, Belair and Free Micha. Tickets for the event are $8, however if you bring a new unwrapped toy the admission is only $5. Doors for the concert are at 7:00 and the music starts at 8:30. Come early and support the bands and the event. If you cannot attended the concert, please drop your toy off at the Revolution complex on December 1, 2 or 3. Let’s not let any child go without a toy this Christmas.

Kingsdown is finishing up a very successful 2011. Having done several concerts in Arkansas and around the county they are ready for this home coming year end Holiday celebration. Kingsdown is enjoying a successful run with their first CD release self-titled Kingsdown, available on I-Tunes. Having played concerts all year with artists such as Poison, Skillet, Pop Evil, Jet, Saving Able, and REO Speedwagon as well as several headlining several shows including a night at the Arkansas State Fair, Kingsdown is ready to make the step forward to International recording stars! Looking forward to the future Kingsdown is writing new songs and preparing to release a live concert DVD.

Toys for tots Began in 1947, when Major Bill Hendricks, USCR and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. In the fall of 1947, his wife Diane crafted a homemade doll and asked Bill to deliver the doll to an organization, which would give it to a needy child at Christmas. When Bill determined that no agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one. He did. The 1947 pilot project was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expanded it into a nationwide campaign. The initial objective that remains the hallmark of the program today is to “bring the joy of Christmas to America’s needy children”. In 1948, Walt Disney designed the Toys for Tots logo, which we use today. Disney also designed the first Toys for Tots poster used to promote the nationwide program. Nat “King” Cole, Peggy Lee and Vic Damone recorded the Toys for Tots theme composed by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster in 1956. Bob Hope, John Wayne, Doris Day, Lorrie Morgan, Tim Allen, Kenny Rogers and Billy Ray Cyrus are but a few of the long list of celebrities who have given their time and talent to promote Toys for Tots. First Lady Nancy Reagan served as the national Spokesperson in 1983. First Lady Barbara Bush served as the national Spokesperson in 1992 and in her autobiography named Toys for Tots as one of her favorite charities.

Over the 62 years of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made U. S. Marines the unchallenged leader in looking after less fortunate children at Christmas. Over its 18 year life span, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supplemented local toy collections with more than 81.3 million toys valued at more than $487 million; plus has provided promotion and support materials valued at over $6.3 million.