Toys for Tots program gets new leaders

By Julian J. Ramos/Staff Writer/jramos@santamariatimes.com
Published in the Santa Maria Times on Tuesday, October 06, 2009

New Lompoc Chairman for Toys for Tots, John Keth, stands behind the counter at The Party Shop Wednesday in Lompoc.//Ian Gonzaga/Staff

After 15 years as the campaign coordinator for the Santa Maria Valley’s Toys for Tots program, Anita Pomerantz is moving on. However, she will remain with the organization.

Pomerantz is now the senior advisor and deputy director of the California Central Coast Toys for Tots — parent organization for the local group.

What began 15 years ago with herself, a new Marine from the recruiting office, a van and boxes to collect toys has grown from 5,000 toys collected to 100,000 toys for children from Paso Robles to Lompoc, she said.

Pomerantz described the early days of setting up collection boxes in office lobbies and other locations, “very, very rewarding times.” As the program has grown, more community groups — including all the high schools in Santa Maria, the Santa Maria Police Department, and local California Highway Patrol — have become involved.

Ready to step into her former role is Dan Cadena of the Marine Corps League Detachment 1340 in Orcutt.

A former Marine, Cadena is getting his feel wet in the Toys for Tots program after only two months involvement.

Calling past sponsors for support has been an easy task so far, he said.

“It’s a very, very positive response,” he said.

Cadena served in the Marine Corps from 1974 to 1979 as a photojournalist and reporter. He also worked in a community-relations capacity, setting up static aircraft displays, organizing Blue Angels trips and setting up guest speakers for visitors. He was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Orange County.

The Toys for Tots organization blossomed from the efforts in 1947 of Maj. Bill Hendricks of the Los Angeles Marine Corps Reserve Unit, who organized his members to collect 5,000 toys for children who otherwise would have gone without a holiday gift, Nuernberg said.

Hendricks’ program was such a success that the Marine Corps adopted it the following year, expanding it nationwide, and it has grown to be known as the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.

Today, Marine Corps Reserve Units across the United States lead toy collection and distribution campaigns, she explained.

In communities without a local Marine Reserve Unit, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation authorizes Marine Corps League Detachment and local community organizations to lead the campaigns.

Lompoc has also seen a recent transition for the Toys for Tots program.

John Keth knew he would be filling the big red tennis shoes of the late Dick DeWees after being nominated to take over as chairman of the Lompoc Valley Toys for Tots board.

Keth had been a campaign board member for just two years before the board’s co-coordinator, Pat Nuernberg, recruited him in the wake of the mayor’s sudden death.

DeWees had mentored Keth during those years, and the latter said he was “looking forward to more tutelage,’’ from the man with a caring heart for the community’s needy children.

But with its annual toy campaign approaching, Toys for Tots needed a strong leader, and Nuernberg had Keth in her sights, noting that the local business owner “fit in really well.” Keth and his wife, Kim, own The Party Shop.

“So I agreed, with a heavy heart,” Keth said. “I want to make Dick proud of us, and I believe he will guide me.”

The passing of DeWees further shook a community organization facing uncertainty following the 2009 closing of several local businesses. Toys for Toys volunteers and recipients began to call the Dorothy Jackson Family Resource Center, the organization that oversees families’ registration for Toys for Tots, wondering if the program would continue, Nuernberg said.

The closure of Big Lots, Mervyn’s, Bakers Square and the Dodge and Ford dealerships, she said, means more local residents are out of work, a fact that, combined with the recession, could take a bite from Toys for Tots’ collection efforts.

The group anticipates a very difficult year, Nuernberg said, but “as difficult as times are, we don’t want to turn a child away.”

It’s difficult, she added, to witness local families, “usually through no fault of their own, become homeless and jobless. We are getting lots of calls now, early in the season, because people are panicking” about being able to provide for their children.

Last year, more than 620 families registered with Toys for Tots, Nuernberg said, and the board expects to have at least that number in 2009.

The two are eager to reassure the public that Toys for Tots “is still around,” and anticipates community support for its efforts. Lompoc Valley residents are traditionally generous when it comes to the annual toy drive, she said. “This community really steps up.”

Keth and Nuernberg are both deeply involved in the community. Keth is chairman of the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, and Nuernberg was recently named “Ambassador of the Year.” She has 11 years’ experience with Toys for Tots. She is co-coordinator of local Toys for Tots’ efforts with Brenda Herrera.

During a recent interview, Keth and Nuernberg finished each other’s sentences, and are quick to promote one other. It’s clear they are a force with which to be reckoned, but Nuernberg reminds a visitor that the toy drive requires “a team effort” by all 15 members of the Toys for Tots board.

Keth, a native of Kenoshan, Wis., bought The Party Shop from its previous owners four years ago. He and his wife recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, and are parents to Amy, a CNA at the Solvang Lutheran Home, and grandparents to Chase, 4. When he was a child, Keth said, his own father introduced him to supporting charities, and he has instilled the spirit of giving into Chase.

Looking forward to the coming season and toy drive, Keth said he hopes the community “digs deep and helps us out. I am looking forward to a joyous season.”

Toys for Tots will kick off its 2009 campaign on Nov. 4 in the courtyard outside City Hall, Nuernberg said. Late this month, the familiar boxes will go up at businesses throughout the city. Toys for Tots accepts new, unwrapped toys, each with a value of at least $10. The age range for recipients has been increased from 13 to 17, Keth said, and games, DVDs and books make ideal contributions for the older teens.

Laurie Jervis contributed to this report.

October 6, 2006