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 |