Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason
Speaker 1: Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. So Toys for Tots well known
Speaker 1: as it should be because this is the wait for it,
Speaker 1: seventy second annual toy Drive. The Toys for Tots Toy
Speaker 1: Drive started in nine seven with one U. S. Marine
Speaker 1: unit delivering five thousand toys to less fortunate kids in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles. It's now in more than eight communities and
Speaker 1: all fifty states, delivering eighteen million toys to an average
Speaker 1: of seven million children each year. WHOA, those are big numbers.
Speaker 1: So let's understand what's new and different this year, what
Speaker 1: we can expect, and how people can help. Pete Osmond
Speaker 1: is retired Lieutenant general from the United States Marine Corps
Speaker 1: and the President and CEO of the Marine Toys for
Speaker 1: Tots Foundation. He joins us on the phone from Quantico, Virginia. General,
Speaker 1: nice to have you with us. Well, my poysure to
Speaker 1: be there, and it's great to be with your listeners
Speaker 1: as well. All right, So talk to us little bit
Speaker 1: about this year, because you guys, as Jason mentioned, uh,
Speaker 1: seventy two years that you folks have been doing. Um,
Speaker 1: tell us a bit about you know what's changed, what's
Speaker 1: new this year, and what your goal is. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: the interesting thing is I wish we had had a
Speaker 1: big change this year, and that I wish we had
Speaker 1: a a decrease in demand. You know, just listening to
Speaker 1: the economic indicators and whatnot, the economy seems quite robust
Speaker 1: and you would think that we would probably see a
Speaker 1: lot less of a demand this year, but that has
Speaker 1: not been the case. Um. Interestingly, the Census Bureau tells
Speaker 1: us that we've still got, you know, almost fifteen million
Speaker 1: less fortunate children out there that are actually living in poverty. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a combination of things. Obviously for some
Speaker 1: folks in our country, they have not recognized the great
Speaker 1: economy that most of us are experiencing. Obviously, some of
Speaker 1: that's probably job related or area related. We also have
Speaker 1: catastrophes that happen, national disasters over the last couple of years,
Speaker 1: as you know, but doing the hurricanes, tornadoes, the wildfires
Speaker 1: on the West coast, you know, total communities have been devastated.
Speaker 1: And when that happens, obviously, you know, taking care of
Speaker 1: those people, those families of tremendous priority, getting them basic things, food, water, shelter, medical,
Speaker 1: medical help, that kind of thing. But then the holidays
Speaker 1: come along and everybody says, gee, what about the children. Well,
Speaker 1: that is part of the challenge that we face. That's
Speaker 1: part of the demand that we have seen the last
Speaker 1: couple of years, you know, is an increase in the
Speaker 1: natural disaster. So between a combination of some people not
Speaker 1: realizing the economic turnaround and the natural disasters, we continue
Speaker 1: to have a pretty high demand, higher than I would
Speaker 1: have hoped this particular time. And the good news is
Speaker 1: we've got people who support us. So that's great. Well,
Speaker 1: and talk to us about that, because you have managed
Speaker 1: to bring together some of the biggest names and toys
Speaker 1: and entertainment names like Hasro and Disney. Tell us what
Speaker 1: those folks are doing for you. Well, you know, the
Speaker 1: foundation of the program is the individual donor, but the
Speaker 1: the corporate sponsorship that we have is amazing. I mean,
Speaker 1: it goes all the way back you said to nineteen
Speaker 1: forty seven. Actually, Disney came on board in nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 1: In fact, the the individual who ran that first campaign
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles was a fellow named Bill hendrix Um.
Speaker 1: In his full time job, he was the director of
Speaker 1: Public relations for Warner Brothers, and a good personal friend
Speaker 1: of his was Walt Disney. So he approached Walt when
Speaker 1: he realized the campaign was going national the next year
Speaker 1: and said, hey, but you divine us designers a poster,
Speaker 1: And that's exactly what Walt Disney did. So the first
Speaker 1: campaign poster, fourth Choys for TODs, was designed by Walt
Speaker 1: Disney himself. In fact, the little three car train logo
Speaker 1: that was on that particular poster has become our logo today.
Speaker 1: But anyway, the program has grown dramatically over the years, uh,
Speaker 1: and we've gotten great support from corporate sponsors along the way.
Speaker 1: Disney has been with us ever since, um, you know,
Speaker 1: providing lots of money and lots of toys. Has Bro's
Speaker 1: been with us for a couple of decades again providing
Speaker 1: millions of dollars worth of toys. Legos with us again
Speaker 1: years this year providing gosh, about ten million dollars worth
Speaker 1: of Legos, And even the UPS Store interestingly has a
Speaker 1: special niche in the Toys for Tots program, and that
Speaker 1: is they helped support our Marine Toys for Tots literacy program.
Speaker 1: In fact, they helped us to develop the program and
Speaker 1: they collect Moneys throughout the year to help us purchase
Speaker 1: toys excuse me, books that we include with the toys
Speaker 1: for Christmas grifts for children. So you know, a great
Speaker 1: variety of corporate sponsors that really do make a big
Speaker 1: difference now, and you're a reminder, you know, we certainly
Speaker 1: spend Jason and I, you know, day in and day out,
Speaker 1: many of our folks here at Bloombergh. We you know,
Speaker 1: we look at the market hitting record highs and we
Speaker 1: talk about, you know, incredible wealth. It has certainly been
Speaker 1: generated since the financial crisis. But you're a reminder that
Speaker 1: not everybody HA has participated in that wealth and not
Speaker 1: and you know, their economic status is still pretty different differently.
Speaker 1: You know, you share with us some stats that they
Speaker 1: are currently more than fifteen million US children living below
Speaker 1: the poverty line federal poverty line, and that one out
Speaker 1: of every three children lives in a family where another
Speaker 1: parent has a full time, year round employment. So for
Speaker 1: many um the struggles are near and dear and very real.
Speaker 1: They certainly are. And uh, you know, the great thing again,
Speaker 1: as I said, is even though the demand continues to
Speaker 1: be there, the American public continues to embrace the program
Speaker 1: and support it, you know, And of course I just
Speaker 1: described our corporate sponsors that tremendous work they do, but
Speaker 1: it really does come down to the individual donor. I
Speaker 1: think we all realize that our Americans are incredibly generous.
Speaker 1: If they see a real need out there or a cause,
Speaker 1: they will rally behind it. And they have continued to
Speaker 1: do that with Marine Toys for Touch. So we've been
Speaker 1: blessed with great support from the American public. And so
Speaker 1: how do people get involved in We're getting real close
Speaker 1: to Christmas here. Obviously people are out and about they
Speaker 1: can use some of those drop off locations, but I
Speaker 1: would imagine there's a digital play as well here. There
Speaker 1: certainly is. It's not too late to buy that toy
Speaker 1: and drop it in the barrel, but it's getting getting
Speaker 1: close because a lot of the coordinators are already beginning
Speaker 1: their distribution process to make sure the toys get to
Speaker 1: the children by Christmas. But one thing that people can
Speaker 1: do that really is important right now, and that is
Speaker 1: to go to our website, which is Toys for Touch
Speaker 1: dot org, hit that donate button and you'll be provided
Speaker 1: a variety of ways that you can make an online donation.
Speaker 1: Those donations allow us to buy toys and bulk literally
Speaker 1: at the eleventh hour, push those toys to the campaigns
Speaker 1: that need assistance out there, particularly with some of the
Speaker 1: difficult to I guess handle age groups, and that's usually
Speaker 1: the preteens teens. People always shy away from trying to
Speaker 1: purchase toys for those those those youngsters, So you know
Speaker 1: we can do that and do it in a way
Speaker 1: that will really help the local campaign. So that online
Speaker 1: donation really is critical. And as I'm quick to tell people,
Speaker 1: when you make a monetary donation to Toys for Tots,
Speaker 1: you can be assured it's going to purchase toys and books.
Speaker 1: We have a very enviable program to support ratio. In fact,
Speaker 1: cents out of every dollar goes to the purchase of
Speaker 1: toys and books. The three cents goes for fundraising costs.
Speaker 1: Absolutely not one time goes to pay anybody's salary. So
Speaker 1: when donors make that donation, they know it's going to
Speaker 1: purchase toys and books. All right, Well, we really appreciate
Speaker 1: your work and you're taking some time to join us
Speaker 1: in this very very busy time of year for you.
Speaker 1: We know Pete Osmond has retired Lieutenant journal Lieutenant General
Speaker 1: excuse me for the Marines, and also the President CEO
Speaker 1: of the Marine Toys for Todds Foundation, Carol. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: I think just a reminder of what the season really
Speaker 1: is all about.