Toys for Tots celebrates 75 years of keeping the spirit alive

“Not only is it important to the morale of the child, but it’s so important to the family unit. It keeps the spirit of Christmas alive in that child. We want every child in Terrebonne Parish to wake with a smile on Christmas morning,” said Tracy Gautreaux, Co-Coordinator Houma-Terrebonne Toys for Tots.

Celebrating the 75th anniversary of Toys for Tots, the organization was founded with humble beginnings. In 1947 Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks’ wife hand crafted dolls and asked her husband to deliver them to an agency that supports children in need. When he couldn’t find one, he and the Marines in his reserve unit in Louisiana, started the program. In 1948, the Marine Toys for Tots Program became a national initiative.

“Here we are 75 years later, and in Terrebonne Parish alone, last year we helped over 10,000 children, with well over 15,000 gift distributed,” Gautreaux explained. “The outpouring of support the community provided to the children, when so many of them experienced so much personal devastation during Ida, was incredible.” With 100 percent of the gifts remaining in Terrebonne Parish, Houma-Terrebonne Toys for Tots partners with church organizations, and non-profits, that vet the needs of their immediate communities within our parish. Once the collections are complete, Toys for Tots distributes gifts throughout the parish based on those needs.