Ringstrom coordinates Toys for Tots

by Cori Hilsgen

news@thenewsleaders.com

U.S. Marine veteran Bob Ringstrom, a St. Joseph resident, is the new coordinator for the St. Cloud Area Toys for Tots.

Ringstrom, who was the Sartell police chief before retiring in 2004, has been working with Toys for Tots for almost 20 years.

During those years, he was a Sartell route volunteer for Steve Titus of the Valhalla detachment of the Marine Corps League. Titus coordinated the Toys for Tots program for 20 years.

Ringstrom and his volunteers are busy collecting donated toys and gearing up for the annual Toys for Tots distribution. They also count on cash donations to purchase additional toys to ensure there are enough to meet area needs.

“We’re always looking for local Marines to help with the routes,” Ringstrom said.

Adding they count on Marines from the area to help service the drop-box sites.

Ringstrom attended a three-day certification training program in September at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Va. to be certified as a coordinator.

He said the Toys for Tots program is part of the Marine Corp Reserve’s mission, which is responsible for continuing the success of the program. Since there isn’t a Marine Reserve program in the St. Cloud area, the duties fall on Marines who are no longer serving to volunteer with the program.

Currently, there are 250 drop-box locations to collect toys in the surrounding St. Cloud area, including St. Joseph, Sartell, Rice, Cold Spring, St. Augusta and more. About 12 Marines are currently serving these sites.

According to Ringstrom, the St. Cloud Area Tots for Tots serves more than 3,000 children each year. The need, he said, is definitely there.

Catholic Charities Emergency Services and the Salvation Army are the distribution centers for toys that are collected or purchased through the program. Toys for Tots connects and partners with Catholic Charities to distribute the toys.

Families can register with Catholic Charities to find toys for their children.

The campaign kicked off the week of Nov. 6. The Marine volunteers will complete the toy collections Dec. 8 for this year’s distribution. Some drop-off locations volunteer to keep their boxes out after Dec. 8. Those toys collected during the rest of December will be stored for next year’s distribution.

This year’s distribution dates for families to “shop” for toys are Dec. 14, 19 and 22. Catholic Charities welcomes volunteers to assist as needed for each distribution shift.

“The idea is to reach as many children as possible,” Ringstrom said. “Toys for Tots is narrowly conceived as a mission to bring light into the lives of children who are not so fortunate as so many of us during the season of giving. It can help them understand they don’t necessarily have to go without in a world that has so much. It’s also an important way for parents and family to be warmed by seeing the joy their children can also be a part of. It can be a strong influence on young lives that everything isn’t a disappointment.”

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program started in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to children in need.

Hendricks’ wife, Diane, came up with the idea after sewing a Raggedy Ann doll and wanting her husband to deliver the doll to an organization that would give it to a child who needed it. After learning that no agency existed, she asked Bill to start one and he did.

Because the 1947 campaign was so successful, the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expanded it into a national campaign the Marines have been conducting ever since.

The initial objective “to bring the joy of Christmas to America’s needy children” still continues today.

Hendricks, a Marine Reservist on weekends, was the director of public relations for Warner Brothers Studio. He influenced a variety of celebrities to support Toys for Tots. In 1948, Walt Disney designed the Toys for Tots logo which is still used today. Disney also designed the first organization poster used to promote the nationwide program.

Many celebrities helped support the program, including Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Vic Damone, Bob Hope, John Wayne, Doris Day, Lorrie Morgan, Tim Allen, Kenny Rogers and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Toys for Tots is a 501(c)3 foundation, located in Virginia, and 96.8 percent of funds raised are applied to the program. The program has distributed more than 313 million toys to 151 million children.

Ringstrom served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1968-1974 and was in Vietnam from 1969-70.

For additional information visit the toysfortots.org website or the St. Cloud Area Toys for Tots Facebook page at facebook.com/StCloudMarineToys4Tots/.

Organizations interested in hosting a drop-site location for collecting toys should visit the Facebook page.

Donations can be made out to “St. Cloud Toys for Tots” and mailed to St. Cloud Toys for Tots, c/o Bob Ringstrom, coordinator, P.O. Box 803, St. Joseph, Minn. 56374.

To volunteer with Catholic Charities call 320-229-4560.