news-record.com

WENTWORTH — People watching the fourth annual Wentworth Christmas Parade on Saturday will have the opportunity to make the holiday a little brighter for less fortunate children in Rockingham County.

Marine Corps League members Tommy Thorn and Wayne Jenkins will walk the route behind a Toys for Tots truck, collecting new, unwrapped toys from people along the way.

Thorn is the coordinator of Rockingham County Toys for Tots for the third year. Jenkins, who recently joined the league, became involved last year.

More than 2,200 toys were donated last year at about 50 collection boxes throughout the county and benefited more than 700 children.

Toys for Tots is a Marine Corps program that began in 1947 in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The wife of Marine Reserve Maj. Bill Hendricks made a doll and asked her husband to give it to an organization that helped needy children on Christmas Day.

When Hendricks couldn’t find such an agency, he and members of his unit collected and distributed 5,000 toys to children in the area.

Toys for Tots was born the next year when the Marine Corps Reserve adopted the program in 74 communities nationwide. Today, Toys for Tots serves more than 700 communities in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

This year, the boxes in Rockingham County are back at various locations until Dec. 14. Thorn and Jenkins will pick up the boxes and fill the orders. The goal is to help 1,000 children.

“Now, more than ever, Toys for Tots needs the assistance of members of the local community to help us make it better than ever,” said Thorn, a Marine who served from 1989 to 1995 and moved to Rockingham County in 1996.

Recently, Jenkins visited Mary Beth Powell’s Girl Scout Troop 241.

“They learned how many children in the county would go without Christmas if we did not help them,” said Jenkins, a Marine who served from 1992 to 1997 and then re-enlisted to serve in Iraq.

The 45 girls decided to help Toys for Tots rather than send their toys overseas, Jenkins said. The troop donated more than 80 toys.

“They did a wonderful job, and it really drove home the meaning of helping others,” Jenkins said.

Before Thorn got involved, all orders went through the Marine Corps Reserve office in Greensboro.

Agencies and needy individuals apply online. Organizations also provide names of needy children. Thorn and Jenkins review the applications and decide who will receive the toys.

“We want the toys to be less than $30,” Thorn said, noting they would rather have three $10 items than one higher-priced gift. That way, more children can benefit.

Applications already have exceeded last year’s requests, Jenkins said.

“I have been blessed in my life. I have a good job. I have everything I want in life and it is a great way for me to give back and be associated with the Marine Corps,” Thorn said.

His two children, Sam, 12, and Helen, 10, get into the Christmas spirit by walking in the parades, helping sort the toys and putting them together, if need be.

Jenkins’ two daughters, Ana, 7, and Amonie, 5, also help.

Thorn said if people along the route Saturday forget to buy a gift, a donor box is located at the new Family Dollar across from Wentworth Town Hall. Individuals can buy a toy there and drop it on the parade truck or they can leave it in the box at the store.

Reidsville native Ann Fish has lived in Eden since 1979. Contact her at annsomersfish@yahoo.com.