international
...erstand the old saying “peace among my brothers and sisters no matter what your age, race, type, religion…We together as one will unite and truly know the meaning of PEACE”. W ith a feeling of aww, I asked Tally if you have to be an International student to join the club, “ with a little chuckle she looked at me and said, “ Well everyone in the world is international there is no such thing in the world as someone not being International. You are from America when you visit other countries you become an International visitor from America. So in short no you don’t have to be International because you already are.” hen I asked Tally where I could go to find out more about the International club she said, “At the moment we don’t have a web site but hopefully soon we will have one up and running by the new semester or at the latest fall of 2003. In the meantime, keep checking the newton south website at, www.Curry.edu. I thanked Tally for taking the time to sit and talk with me about her club and wished her luck on the Toys for Tots© fundraiser. I decided to do a little history check on Toys for Tots© and found there website www.Toysfortots.com to be very helpful in my wanting to know the history of the organization. Some information that I found to be interesting was: • Toys for Tots© began in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. The idea came from Bill's wife, Diane. In the fall of 1947, Diane handcrafted a Raggedy Ann doll and asked bill to deliver the doll to an organization, which would give it to a needy child at Christmas. When Bill determined that no agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one. He did. The 1947 campaign was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots© in 1948 and expanded it into a nationwide campaign. • The initial objective that remains the hallmark of the program today is to "bring the joy of Christmas to America's needy children." • From 1947 through 1979, Marines collected and distributed new and used toys. On Reserve drill weekends during October, November and December, Reserve Marines refurbished the used toys. • In the 1970’s the hand me down idea was discontinued due to the idea that, distributing "hand me down" toys does not send the message Marines want to send to needy children. The goal is to deliver a message of hope, which will build self-esteem and, in turn, motivate needy children to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders. A shiny new toy is the best means of accomplishing this goal. • MISSION: The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots© Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children i...